Organized Chaos
by Lahdolphin
Summary: Life decided to kick the Rikkaidai boys in the balls and dump them into their own sucky soap opera filled with tennis, insane friends, girls, and more enemies than ever. High school just got complicated. OC-STORY
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything – Prince of Tennis, the characters, music, businesses, companies, etc… **

**Warnings: sexual themes, obscene language, potential insanity, perverse humor, very slow moving plot, Americanized society, OCs, etc... **

**Note: this story is different. It is non-yaoi (AKA: no boy/boy love), but it is not grossly filled with OC/cannon romance. It's simply my take on how the regulars would be in high school (with focus on different characters as the story goes on), who their out-of-club friends are, and what life can throw at you when you don't expect it. Please remember that this story is Americanized and not accurate to Japanese culture.  
**

**Note II: a special thanks and lots of love to xxTemarixx, my kinda-sorta-beta-who-sold-her-soul-to-me, because without her this story would be nothing. **

* * *

**Chapter 1.**

_Everybody's a bit odd, and Rikkaidai was no different. They were no longer the tennis prodigies of the junior high tennis circuit. They were eight young men struggling to find their role in the high school game – the bad boy, the best friend, the golden boy, the forgotten, the ace, the loner, the nerd, the prodigy. _

_They would laugh a little too loud, hold their heads a little higher than they deserved to, talk more talk than they could walk, get a little too lost in the clouds, fall too far in love. But none of that ever hurt anyone. Besides, that was what made them who they were, the egotistical jocks that lived for the next match. _

_They were a family, that group of ragtag kids. _

.

Marui didn't own an alarm clock at the age of eighteen. He didn't see a point in buying one. When he was younger, his mother would wake him up. By the time Marui had turned seven, he had found his own personal alarm clock, a wakeup call of sorts.

Marui rolled onto his side, pulling his blanket up over his body, trying to get a few more seconds of snuggling with his bed before his wakeup call arrived. He was dreaming that he could fly, that clouds were cotton candy, and that he was flying right through the middle of a neon green cloud that he –

Ping.

Marui groaned. That familiar 'ping' against his window, a rock thrown from the driveway, tossed with perfect aim and just enough force to scare the living daylights out of him, was his wakeup call.

Marui crawled down to the end of his bed, opening up the window that was there and sticking his head out, shivering as crisp autumn air wrapped around him. In his driveway was a short girl wearing the smallest size of the Rikkaidai High's girls' uniform.

"Good mornin', Sunshine," she said.

There's a complicated story behind that girl, Suzuki Akira. Several odd stories as well. The shortest story of them all being that when Marui was seven, in the sandbox, she took his shovel, so he took his gum out of his mouth and stuck it in her hair. She punched him and told him he would die of cooties if he did that again. They became best friends after that, though neither of them are sure why.

"You're evil, Akira," Marui said, running a hand through his bed head. "It's still dark out."

Suzuki probably narrowed her eyes –Marui couldn't tell in the darkness – putting her hands on her slim hips. "Well,_ I_ have practice at six thirty today, and I wake you up when I walk by. Now get up, or suck it up and buy a freakin' alarm clock!"

Suzuki was pitcher and captain of the softball team, the one Rikkaidai team that rarely made it to the Kantou Tournament, let alone Nationals. She wanted to take the team to Nationals, even if that meant working them to death by scheduling practices at six in the goddamn morning.

"Excuse me-_eeee_," Marui said rudely, yawning towards the end. He waited until he could feel his cheeks again before realizing that he had no chance in winning in an argument against Suzuki. (He never did.) He sighed and asked, "Can we stop and get McDonalds? I can't go another morning without breakfast."

Suzuki groaned loudly, tossing her head back. A second later, she set her head back straight and sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Just hurry the hell up, Bunta."

Marui smiled, doing a mental victory dance as he rolled off his bed, heading straight for his uniform, which was… somewhere.

.

Suzuki just stared from across the booth at Marui as he ate. Marui's 'breakfast' was basically a heart attack on a tray – a coffee with three creams and four sugars, some greasy bagel, and six hash-browns with a pound of ketchup for each. Suzuki sighed, shaking her head as she grabbed her water and took a sip.

"What?" Marui asked, hearing her sigh.

She just shook her head again, smiling. "Nothing."

"Seriously, tell me."

"Nothing," Suzuki insisted, setting her cup down, reaching towards Marui's tray and grabbing a hash-brown. "I just thought of something funny."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Akira."

"_No_."

Marui narrowed his eyes, pouting on the inside because he was too much of a man to push his bottom lip out. "Fine… jerk…"

Suzuki rolled her eyes, leaning back in the booth. "Bunta, you're such a–" She jumped, feeling two strong arms wrap around her neck, hands playing with the bow of her uniform.

"You on a date, Toots?"

Suzuki clenched her jaw, grabbing the arms and unwrapping them from her neck. She turned slightly so she was face to face with Ito Ryuu, captain of the baseball team.

"Shut up," she said, rolling her eyes when he slid into the booth next to her.

"You didn't answer my question," Ito said, and then he added, "Toots."

Suzuki punched him in the arm, hard. "Don't call me Toots!"

Marui just watched. He never understood those two, or their hatred for each other. Whenever he asked Suzuki, she would tell him that it softball and baseball can never live in peace because, well, they just can't. She would tell him that Ito and she were like dinosaurs and the meteor.

Suzuki pushed Ito out of the booth, sticking her tongue out at him. Ito smirked as though he had thought of the best come back in the world. When he opened his mouth, someone stepped over him, saying, "Oh, shut up, Ito. No one cares."

Marui moved over in the booth, allowing Niou to sit down next to him. The Trickster grabbed Marui's coffee, taking off the lid to take a sip. He grimaced, setting the cup back down. "Ew."

Out of the corner of her eye, Suzuki saw Ito push himself up, looking at her as he walked out of the restaurant. She rolled her eyes and sighed, realizing she had just rolled her eyes for what felt like the umpteenth time that morning, and it was barely six.

"You okay?" Niou asked Suzuki. He wasn't nearly as good friends with Suzuki as Marui was – he wouldn't even call them friends – but she was by far better than all the preppy girls that flocked to Marui like seagulls.

"Yup." Suzuki nodded, playing with the straw in her cup. "I'm turning over a new leaf, though. I'm becoming a lesbian. It'll save me the trouble of dealing with testosterone filled douches."

"I thought you were a lesbian," Niou said, picking up Marui's coffee again. "I mean, you_ are _on the softball team. And you're the captain. You're Queen of the Lesbians."

"I am not a lesbian!" Suzuki snapped her leg out, trying to kick Niou, but failed. "Besides," she continued, "you're on the tennis team. Aren't you gay?"

Niou snorted, taking another sip of the coffee. He grimaced (again) and set it back down. "Tennis is a manly sport."

"And softball isn't?" Suzuki questioned.

Niou gave her a smartass grin. "It _is _a manly sport. That's why you're a lesbian."

Suzuki tried to kick him again, but still couldn't. She was too short. She was shorter than Marui, and he was only 166cm (5'5") – that's saying something. She pressed her lips together in a small pout, sinking down into the booth.

"You suck," she mumbled.

"I do not," he said before taking another sip of Marui's coffee. He grimaced (yet again) and looked at Marui. "I don't get how you can drink this."

"If you don't like it, don't drink it," Marui said, finishing off his bagel. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Niou took another sip, wrinkling his nose. Marui sighed. Suzuki rolled her eyes.

.

Niou and Marui were sitting on a bench by the baseball/softball fields, lazily watching the girls' softball team run laps until morning tennis practice started.

"So why are you up so early?" Marui asked, slinging an arm over the back of the bench. "Going to McDonalds at six in the morning isn't your thing. McDonalds isn't your thing no matter what time of day."

Niou shrugged, looking down at his phone. "I stayed up all night helping 'roshi with student council crap so he would have time to play during practice, and I wouldn't have to sit on the bench like a first year without a doubles partner. I got hungry and he didn't, so I went to McDonalds."

"I say we murder him," Marui said, watching as Suzuki tossed a ball back and forth with the catcher. "I think the murder of the student council president would be pretty big news. Maybe then our newspaper would have something to write about."

"Speaking of 'roshi… He just texted me saying we're late," Niou said, grabbing his things and standing up.

Marui stood up, grabbing his things as well. "I _hate _morning practice."

The two managed to take three full steps before a girl walked up to them, her eyes locked on Marui's shoes.

"Marui-senpai," she said softly, "can I talk to you?"

Marui looked at Niou, who rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll meet you in the club room." He gave the girl a grin. "Good luck, Sweetheart."

She blushed. Marui wanted to kick him.

.

The regulars had their own lockers and showers in the back of the club room. Yagyuu was standing in front of his open locker, undoing his buttons with precise movements of his fingers. He looked in his mirror, his eyes locked on the door.

"Where are those two?" Jackal asked, walking over to Yagyuu as he zipped up his jersey.

"Heck if I know," Yagyuu said, slipping off his shirt and grabbing his polo. "But if I am forced to run laps because my partner is late, I will not be happy."

Jackal snorted. "You say that all the time, but complain when he isn't late. You know you love the drama."

"I love books. I hate plays." Yagyuu undid his belt, looking at the mirror on the door of his locker. He jumped, putting his hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion, turning around to be face-to-face with his partner.

"Hiroshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

Jackal rolled his eyes, poking Yagyuu, who looked like he was going to kill someone. "What?" Yagyuu hissed.

"Just wanted to get you to shut up." Jackal ignored Yagyuu's sarcastic reply, looking at Niou. "Where the hell is Bunta? I don't want to run laps, unlike this Drama Queen."

Niou smirked, putting an arm around Yagyuu's shoulders. "See, even Jackal thinks you're a girl."

Yagyuu ducked away from Niou's arm, 'accidentally' hitting him with his belt when he pulled it out of his belt loops. With an evil smirk, Yagyuu said, "My bad."

Niou grabbed his thigh, cursing under his breath. "You've been spending way too much time with me."

"Yo," Jackal said, snapping. "Think, Niou, _Bunta_."

"Yes, Niou, tell us, where is Marui," Yukimura said, walking up to them, looking like a killer bee in all that yellow and black.

"He's coming," Niou said, gently nudging Jackal away from his locker so he could change. "Some girl stopped him right before we came in."

"Does Marui-senpai have another girlfriend?" Kirihara asked, groaning. "Didn't he just break up with what's-her-face last week?"

"Yes," Jackal said. "He seems to have more girls confessing to him than Niou does this year."

"Losing your touch, Niou?" Yukimura asked, smirking in a teasing way.

Niou rolled his eyes. "Suck my dick, Yukimura."

The door to the club room opened up, and half of the regulars made cat calls or yelled "hey, sexy!" when they saw the pink envelope in his hand. The other members of the club just continued changing at their cubbies – this was a weekly thing, the regulars getting new girlfriends or getting confessed to.

"Very funny," Marui mumbled, yanking his locker open and shoving the letter into the top.

"So, who was it?" Kirihara asked anxiously.

"Some girl I do clean-up duty with on Wednesdays," Marui replied boringly, stripping out of his school uniform and into the yellow of the tennis team.

"Well, what did you say?" Kirihara asked.

"I told her no, but it would be great if we could be friends and blah-blah-blah… I forget."

"You're so mean to those girls," Yagyuu said. "They have feelings, you know."

"Hey," Marui said defensively, "it's not like I'm one of those guys who talk about all the 'hot ass' they get. I just turn girls down, occasionally say yes, and end up getting dumped because apparently I'm an asshole."

"Hurry up and get changed," Yukimura said, not caring in the least. Yukimura turned to face the rest of the club room, and blew the whistle that was hanging around his neck. "Genchirou and Renji have hidden a dozen balls around the courts. Whoever finds a ball is excused from afternoon practice."

"Wait, I'm still changing –"

"I don't care. Go. Now."

Half of them were still in their underwear when they sprinted out of the club room.

.

"Sucks that you didn't find a ball," Niou said, putting an arm around Kirihara's shoulder as Niou, Marui and him walked through the halls. The Trickster rolled a tennis ball in his hand. "I bet Buchou is going to assign an ass load of laps."

Marui made a noise of disagreement, tossing his ball slightly into the air and catching it in an over dramatic manner. "Nah. I bet you guys are going to the weight room and doing squats."

"Why couldn't you get a ball again?" Niou asked, grinning like the devil.

"I can't climb trees, sue me. And get off of me, I hate being touched," Kirihara said, knocking Niou's arm off of him.

"So does that mean you don't touch yourself?" Marui asked, grinning just like Niou.

"Perverts," Kirihara mumbled.

"You know you love us in a non-queer way," Niou said, putting his arm back around Kirihara's shoulders.

"Whatever you say, Senpai," Kirihara said, ducking away from Niou and making a sharp right down a hallway towards his first class.

Niou and Marui kept walking, discussing their upcoming chemistry test.

.

Marui and Niou pulled a slide-into-the-door-as-the-bell-rings, receiving odd locks from the rest of their class because the bell hadn't rung. So, basically, they pulled a slide-into-the-room-like-losers.

"I am not friends with you," Suzuki said as Marui sat in front of her and Niou beside her.

"Our weird antics are the highlight of your day, Akira, and you know it," Marui said, going through his bag for his book. He set his book on his desk, opening to the back cover. "Did you study?" he asked, curious as he stared at a picture of the periodic table.

Suzuki furrowed her brow. "Study? Why the hell would I do that?"

"That huge unit test?" Marui suggested. "The one on thermodynamics?"

"Crap." Suzuki hit her head against her desk. (Twice.)

.

"I'm starving," Suzuki groaned as the lunch bell rang. "I failed a test, and now I'm going to die of hunger before my mom can kill me. _Awesome_."

"If you're hungry, then eat," Marui said, turning his desk around to face Niou and her.

"Eat what?" Suzuki asked. "The crap I tossed together this morning? Yes, nasty sushi and half-cooked rice. Yum."

"Oh, come on," Marui said, waving his chop sticks towards the bento she had put on her desk, "it can't be that bad."

"Yeah, right," Niou snickered, "and I'm an incredible ballerina."

"Would you rather starve to death?" Marui asked.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I wou – AHH!" Suzuki jumped out of her seat violently, gaining the attention of their entire class.

"_What_?" Marui and Niou asked, jumping up as well.

"Spider!" Suzuki yelled, pointing down at the ground next to her chair.

"… spider?"

"Yeah. Spider."

"Spider? You gave me a heart attack because you saw a _spider_?" Niou asked, looking for the so-called spider she had seen as he sat down.

"I _hate _spiders," Suzuki said defensively as she cautiously sat back down.

"She does," Marui said, also sitting back down. "It's the only girly thing about her."

"Shut up, Bunta."

"Why? What with the ability to beat a tank to a bloody pulp, it's good to know that you are indeed the proud owner of your very own vagina," Marui said, smiling, obviously teasing.

"So you can just buy a vagina? I don't think it works like that," she said.

"You need proof of purchase, obviously. You get them at an auction, just like dried up penises and unicorn horns."

"One vagina, going once, going twice – two hundred thousand yen! Do I hear three hundred thousand?" Suzuki said, using her chopsticks as a microphone. "No? Two hundred thousand for one vagina – going once, going twice – _sold!"_

Marui laughed. Suzuki choked on air. Niou just stared, disturbed beyond words.

.

The three sprinted out of the school when the last bell rang. They changed into their street shoes, knocked people with their bags, and might have pushed someone, but they didn't care. That was just who they were.

"I win!" Marui yelled, doing a dorky victory dance at the school gate.

Seconds later, Suzuki was running up to Marui with Niou. "I'd rather lose and look sane than win and look like an idiot."

Huffing, Niou rolled his eyes. "You're both idiots; let's just leave it at that."

They shrugged.

"I'll see you guys later," Niou said, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Wait. Don't you guys have practice?" Suzuki asked, looking between the two. Marui pulled a tennis ball out of his pocket, Niou doing the same. "Glad to know you two got your balls back."

Marui pulled at her hair gently. "We get to ditch. What about you?"

Suzuki rubbed her head, glaring at Marui. "Tennis is in the weight room, Ito and the douche bags are using the fields, and soccer is in the gym."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Softball never got priority. The team wasn't a national level team, so they were overruled when it came to signing up to use the athletic areas of the school. Suzuki had had countless arguments with the other captains and the principal, claiming that the reason they aren't national level is because they aren't given the chance to practice – she was always ignored.

"Yeah, whatever, see ya guys later," Niou said, walking a different direction from the other students leaving the school, hands in his pockets.

Niou was different from the other Rikkaidai kids. He wasn't a druggie, trailer trash kid like everyone thought. No. He was the opposite. He lived in the upper part of the town in some gated community in some big house. He didn't tell people, because he knew people would look at him differently if they knew his dad was the CEO of that huge software company. He didn't care what they said about him, and he didn't care that his friends didn't have the money he had.

"Wanna go get a smoothie?" Marui asked.

Suzuki shrugged. "Why not?"

The two began to walk, making small talk and jokes.

In the end, it was just another day.

* * *

**A/N: This was more of an introduction chapter than anything. Opinions?**


	2. Chapter 2

** Chapter 2.**

On Sunday, Marui woke up without Suzuki throwing a pebble against his window. He didn't have practice, and neither did she, so they both decided to sleep in. When Marui got up and went downstairs into the kitchen and saw what he saw, he was confused.

His step-dad was standing in front of the stove in his mom's apron, cooking what appeared to be American-styled eggs, and his younger twin brothers were sitting at the table. It looked like an orange juice commercial, only creepier.

"Good morning, Bunta," his step-dad said as Marui walked over to the coffee pot.

Marui gave some tired reply as he poured himself a cup of coffee into a cheap mug. He was too concerned with pumping his veins full of caffeine to really care, and there were too many things wrong with the scene for Marui to think straight. The weirdest thing was by far the fact that his step-dad was in a pink apron – manly.

His step-dad, or as Marui called him when he was angry, the STD, was like his real father, but not in a biological sense. When Marui's mom became pregnant with him, his father just disappeared. His mother always says that he shouldn't blame his father – "I was eighteen. We had our whole lives head of us," she would say. When Marui was ten or so, his mother married his step-dad, and suddenly Marui had two younger siblings. It was only a year ago that Marui started to refer to him as "Dad" in front of his friends; Haruto and Hikaru, his twin-step-brothers, are three years younger than him. They're in their final year of junior high and probably the most annoying people on earth, according to Marui.

"Are you going anywhere today, boys?" their dad asked.

"Haruto and I are going to the gym to run," Hikaru said, shoveling cereal into his mouth.

"When does soccer start again?"

"Spring. Around the same time as tennis," Haruto said, "but the team is still practicing at school."

Their dad made a noise. "And what are you doing today, Bunta? Seeing Suzuki-chan?"

"Yeah. We're gonna met up at Sweet Treats. I'll be back for dinner."

"Don't fill up on all that sugar; your mother is making tuna rolls for dinner. Eggs?" their dad asked randomly, turning around, holding the pan by the handle.

Inside the pan, Marui thought he saw scrambled eggs. He wasn't so sure. They were bubbly, had specks of black pepper, smelled burned, and Marui was sure he heard one growl, but that might have been his stomach.

"No thanks," Marui said, walking over to the table where his brothers were. He reached between the twins, grabbing an orange, the cream, and the sugar. Marui sat down next to Haruto, putting a splash of cream in his coffee and four cubes of sugar – his morning heart-attack-in-a-cup.

Hello, early caffeinated induced death.

.

Sweet Treats was a frozen yogurt shop in the middle of town, but they sold other things, too. It was a hot spot of sorts for teenagers, mostly couples and large groups. Marui spotted Suzuki sitting at a table under an umbrella out front, shoveling peach yogurt into her mouth, a fruit salad and a bottle of water sitting in front of her.

"Hey," Marui said, pulling out the chair next to her. "Didn't eat breakfast?"

"I ordered a bowl of fruit because I ate a giant squid," she said sarcastically, poking a strawberry with a fork. "What do you think?"

"Don't get snappy with me. And did you _actually_ order a bowl of fruit?" Marui asked.

Suzuki stopped mid bite. "_What?_ Of course."

"That's a fruit salad."

Suzuki chewed and swallowed the strawberry before talking. "Salads are made of vegetables, mainly lettuce, on a plate," she said. "This is a bowl of fruit. It's a fruit bowl."

"But on the menu –"

"It's a fruit bowl."

"It's a freakin' salad!"

Suzuki rolled her eyes, poking an apple slice. She bit into it and Marui could hear the crunch. He stared at the bowl of fruit, licking his lips. Suzuki rolled her eyes a second time and said, "You can have the apples."

"Yes!" Marui smiled, piling all of the apple slices into his hand. "Crisp apples are amazing. My dad buys the mushy kinds because Haruto and Hikaru like them. I had to eat an orange for breakfast – the devil of breakfast fruits."

"Mushy apples are disgusting. They feel like applesauce in my mouth. If I wanted applesauce, I would eat applesauce," she said, setting her fork down.

"Exactly. Mushy apples equal applesauce. Fruit cut up and put in a bowl equals salad."

"It's a bowl of fruit. The menu says 'fruit bowl,' a bowl of fruit. The cute cashier understood what I wanted when I ordered my fruit bowl."

Marui narrowed his eyes. Suzuki narrowed her eyes back. Then Marui bit into his apple slice, the crunch ruining their death glares.

"Soooo," Suzuki said, picking her yogurt up.

"So."

Suzuki put a spoonful of peach yogurt into her mouth. Marui ate another apple slice.

"We have the worst conversations," Suzuki said.

Marui nodded. "Then talk about something. My life is boring. I need to live through you."

"My life is boring, too."

"Something. Anything."

"Okay, so, I _did_ meet this guy," Suzuki said, biting her lip as she poked at her fruit bowl to keep herself from smiling.

"Really? Who?"

"Yoshida Kazuo, he's on the basketball team. I actually met him awhile ago, but we just started talking a lot more lately… And, I dunno, he's kinda cool."

"You gonna ask him out?" Marui asked, picking a piece of apple skin out of his teeth. "Or are you gonna wait for him to ask you, be old fashion and stuff?"

"Old fashion, you know that," Suzuki said. "I'm all for feminism and stuff, but I think a guy should ask a girl out. I mean, I guess it's okay for a girl to ask a guy out, but that's just not me."

"Maybe you've just not met someone you like enough to want to take the risk."

Suzuki raised her eyebrows. "That was deep."

"Or," Marui continued, "you haven't met someone that you've wanted to sleep with yet." He grinned. "Deep, eh?"

"I take back my deep comment at risk of you turning it into a sexual pun. Is all that you think about? Sex?" Suzuki asked with a heavy sigh.

Marui shrugged, putting another apple slice into his mouth. "Bit's a muy kink," he said, quickly swallowing and repeating himself: "It's a guy thing. All guys think about is sex, trust me."

"I doubt that."

Marui gave her a look. "I'm an eighteen year old guy. Looking at a fruit salad makes me think about sex."

"One, that's disgusting. Two, I can never talk to you again. Tres, that's a number in Spanish. Four, _it's a fruit bowl!_"

He chucked an apple slice at her head. She flicked yogurt at him.

.

On Monday morning, right on cue, Marui heard a 'ping' against his window. He shuffled down to the bottom of his bed, pushing the window open. Suzuki was standing in the drive way in her black softball team sweatshirt, rubbing her bare hands together.

"Hurry up, it's cooooold," Suzuki moaned, bending her knees slightly, wishing her uniform skirt was just a tad bit longer to cover her knees.

"Come in and get something to eat. I need to get a shower and you'll freeze out there," Marui said. "The spare key is in the fake rock in the flower pot by the door."

Suzuki didn't say anything; Marui figured her lips were frozen shut. It was cold out for autumn, but that didn't surprise Marui. It was 7:30 in the morning and border-line winter, of course it was cold. That was the reason morning practices were mostly constricted to the gym (unless the weather was good), meaning the teams took turns having morning practice.

After a quick shower, Marui rushed downstairs, fixing his tie. Suzuki was at the kitchen table, her nose wrinkled up as she stared at an apple with one bite taken out of it.

"Mushy?"

Suzuki nodded. "I von't manna cwallow mit."

Marui rolled his eyes, grabbing a paper towel from next to the sink. He handed it to Suzuki, who spit the bite of apple into it.

"_Ew_. How can your brothers eat that?" she asked, cringing as he reached for the fruit basket in the middle of the table, pulling out a banana. "It tasted like cold mashed potatoes."

"I don't know how they can, they're disgusting. And bananas are absolutely terrible for you."

"What are you now, a fruit expert?" Suzuki asked, peeling the banana. "Or do you just not want to think about sex?"

"I got over the banana penis resemblance a long time ago. You're a pervert for thinking about that," Marui said, grabbing a few kiwis from the basket and sitting across from her. "You seeing Yoshi today?"

"Yoshida," Suzuki corrected. "And, yeah, why?" She bit into the banana. Marui grinned. She set the banana down, crossing her arms.

"Haven't gotten over the banana penis thing, uh, Akira?" Marui teased.

Suzuki stuck out her tongue, cheeks pink.

.

"I don't see the point to morning practice," Marui said as they walked to school. "I mean, it's like one hour, and half of that is spent in the locker rooms – fifteen before, fifteen after. Then it's about ten minutes to run laps and stretch, and what's left? Like, thirty minutes."

"Twenty, you did the math wrong, stupid," Suzuki said, shoving her hands into the front of her sweatshirt. "Besides, it doesn't matter, neither of us have morning practice all week. And could you walk a little faster? I hate the cold."

Marui let out a deep breath, watching the little white cloud come out of his mouth. "I love a cold morning. It wakes me up when I don't drink coffee."

"Yeah, just wait until your hair freezes to your head."

Marui's eyes widened. "Crap. You're right. What's the temperature?"

"A couple below zero, maybe," she lied, shrugging.

Marui ran his hands through his hair, having a mini panic attack. Suzuki rolled her eyes.

When they got to school, Suzuki rushed off to somewhere else, and Marui just assumed it was to hang out with the softball team. Marui didn't know the girls on the softball team, and Suzuki didn't know the guys on the tennis team, minus Niou, just because they've been in the same classes since junior high. The two decided a long time ago that they needed separate friends because their friendship was crazy enough.

Marui opted to go inside, just in case his hair did freeze to his head, though he highly doubted that it was possible. He headed straight for his cubby and saw a familiar second year waiting for him.

"Akaya," Marui greeted, stepping out of his street shoes. "You okay? Don't you usually hang out with your little gang in the morning?"

Kirihara shrugged. "My best friend has a girlfriend, and my best girl friend has a boyfriend. All they do is make-out. It's disgusting."

"Or it makes you jealous. You haven't had a serious girlfriend in awhile, not since that Tachibana chick," Marui commented, pulling out his school shoes. Kirihara didn't say anything. "Dude, if you want advice, give me something to work with. Do you like his girlfriend? Do you like your girl who's a friend? Or does it seriously just make you uncomfortable?"

Kirihara shrugged again. "I dunno. His girlfriend… preppy. And that girl I'm friends with is just a friend. I don't think I could like her like that."

"Then it just makes you uncomfortable?" Marui asked, putting on his school shoes.

Kirihara shrugged for a third time. "_I don't know._ Maybe I'm jealous. Or I could just be freaked out by their grotesque PDA."

"I'm betting on jealous," Niou said, appearing out of nowhere. He gently shoved Kirihara away from his cubby, slipping a pink envelope into it and grabbing his school shoes.

"Oh?" Marui asked, reaching for the letter. "Who's the girl?"

Niou took it from his cubby, pocketing it. "Private affairs, Marui. I like to keep a private life. _Private_."

"Think you could say private anymore?" Kirihara asked.

Niou punched Kirihara's shoulder softly. He would have ruffled his hair, like he used to, but Kirihara was too tall for that now. He had long passed Marui's height, and was shoulder-to-shoulder with Sanada, who was anything but scrawny.

"You going to say yes?" Marui asked.

Niou shrugged, putting on his shoes. "Dunno. Maybe. She had the guts to give it to me in person instead of just putting it in my cubby or slipping it into my bag – I gotta give her points for that. I don't know her that much, though. I think she just wants to get into my pants to get popular."

"Well, good luck with figuring that one out," Marui said, making his way towards the stairs, Niou and Kirihara right on his foot.

"Girls are complicated," Kirihara said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Niou nodded in agreement. Marui shrugged – having a girl for a best friend made girl-related problems seem so small sometimes.

.

Suzuki walked away from her friends, heading over to her cubby, wishing she didn't have to.

"Hey, Toots," Ito said, leaning against a row of cubbies.

Suzuki shoved him out of her way, trying to ignore him completely, but Ito always put up a fight. He smiled, watching her struggle to get her shoes from one of the higher cubbies. Some idiot had switched her shoes into the upper cubby which she couldn't reach – a bad idea of a joke.

"Here," Ito said, grabbing her shoes for her.

"I don't need help from you," Suzuki snarled, taking the shoes, forcing her face not to turn red as people looked at them. What were they? Entertainment?

"So, I heard you're talking to Yoshida," Ito said.

"Yeah. So what? _Jealous_?"

Ito flinched. "Hardly."

"Then why ask? I talk to guys. I am a girl after all." She put her street shoes in her correct cubby, slipping the prankster's shoes to the ground without a second thought. She set her school shoes down, stepping into them. She looked at Ito. "Do you want anything else? Perhaps a kick to the balls?"

"He's bad news, Toots," Ito said, crossing his arms. "He treats nice girls like you like shit."

"And you treat me nicely?" Suzuki said coolly.

"Better than he will."

She rolled her eyes. "Please, you're an ass. You've picked on me since we were in grade school. Don't act like you're my superhero. Now, Ito, please get out of my way before I'm forced to make a scene."

Ito moved to the side, following her with his eyes as she walked. Rushing up the stairs, Suzuki didn't dare look over her shoulder because Ito yelled "Bye, Toots!" at the top of his lungs. "Ass" was the only word on her mind.

.

Suzuki walked into the classroom seconds before the bell rang, brushing a strand of loose her behind her ear as she rushed over to her seat. Marui turned around, raising his eyebrows at her. She didn't answer any of his questions on why she was late.

"Shh, Sensei just walked in," Suzuki hissed as the bell rang.

Half way through their first subject, chemistry, their teacher passed back their tests. Suzuki stared down at all of the red marks, shoving the test packet under her textbook. Niou pulled out a calculator, doing a fist pump after calculating out an eighty-eight percent. Marui glanced at his, and then slipped it into his bag.

"That bad, eh?" Niou asked.

It wasn't bad. It was a perfect. Chemistry had always been Marui's best subject, but the team didn't know that. He didn't do all the work, so he got less than perfect marks, but the perfect tests grades made up for those missed assignments.

They were assigned a paper on the Chinese Ming Dynasty in history, which only seemed to be the start of their mountain of homework. By the time the last bell had rung, Marui just wanted to curl up in a hole and die. They had the history essay, a reading for English, and thirty or so half-page long problems for math (quarter of a page if you wrote small). It wasn't that bad, but it wouldn't be fun.

"This. Is. Hell."

Niou patted Marui on the back. "Took you that long to figure it out?"

"It's only Monday," Marui moaned, grabbing his bag and standing up. "And we have practice this afternoon. I don't think this day could get any worse."

"You'll jinx yourself if you say that," Suzuki warned.

Marui made a noise. "Yeah._ I'll _get jinxed. I don't get jinxed, Akira. I'm unjinxable until pigs fly."

"Did you ever hear about the swine that flew? AKA: swine flu?" Niou asked.

Marui snorted, just like a pig. Suzuki smiled. Niou rushed down the hall, hitting Yagyuu on the back of the head.

.

Practice was brutal. They had been in the weight room doing squats until they could barely limp down to the locker room. There was something wrong about guys looking at others grunt and sweat and squat. There's such a thing as too much male bonding.

Marui separated himself from the other regulars as they left the locker room, heading over towards the baseball/softball fields, knowing Suzuki would more than likely be there. As he turned the corner of the school building, he heard her voice.

"… dunno," she said, finishing a sentence that Marui never heard the start off.

Marui froze, peeking around the corner. She was talking to someone tall, at least compared to her, with his back to Marui, who didn't dare move away from his cliché spying spot. In an instant, Marui knew it was Yoshida Kazuo, that guy Suzuki had been talking about.

"Come on, Suzuki, I've seen the kind of magic you've worked with your team. Tell me your secrets, Great One," Yoshida said. Marui bet he was smiling, raising the charm.

Suzuki smiled back, slipping her hands into her sweatshirt's front pocket. "Work. A lot of work."

"I'll get you to spill your secrets some day, just you wait."

Suzuki pressed her lips together, trying not to smile, but it crept out and she was smiling like an idiot.

At that moment, one of Yoshida's friends called his name. Yoshida said something to her, something Marui couldn't hear, and ran off, waving over his shoulder at Suzuki, who waved back. Marui walked away from his corner towards Suzuki.

"D-did you hear that?" Suzuki asked, fidgeting.

Marui just smiled. "Akira and Yoshida sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I –"

"I will hit you."

Marui shut up for the moment, but teased Suzuki about her little crush as they walked home. Suzuki's mind was too preoccupied with other thoughts to think about Marui's stupid comments.

* * *

**A/N: No comments :)**


	3. Chapter 3

** Chapter 3.**

Early morning wakeup calls seemed to be taking a toll of Marui, but Suzuki couldn't have been in better spirits. As each day passed, the mornings got colder and longer, and Suzuki seemed to show up a little later with a few more bags under her eyes, a few more pieces of clothing, and a dumb smile on her face.

One Friday, she was so late that Marui actually managed to get dressed before she showed up, and opened the door for her. "I'm going to outgrow these wakeup calls… eventually," Marui said, smiling and letting his freezing friend in.

"Do you have anything peach? Juice? Yogurt? Fruit?" she asked, rubbing her hands together.

"Didn't you eat?" Marui asked, following her as she led herself to the kitchen, opening the fridge.

"I was up until two talking to Yoshida, and I over slept a bit. I rushed out of my house – my dogs looked at me like I was insane," she commented, pulling out a can out peach juice with a huge smile. "Hallelujah!"

Marui watched her with raised eyebrows. "You spent all night talking to Yoshida? When are you gonna get the balls to ask him out?"

"I'm not going to."

"No balls."

"I don't have balls, which is a good thing."

"No ovaries."

"That was a terrible comeback."

"I've had worse." Marui shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Seriously, though, you like him, just ask him out."

"No! We've had this conversation a thousand times a year since we turned twelve," she said before finishing half her can of juice in one sip. "I don't make the first move. Sue me."

Marui did get she was coming from, though. Most of his girlfriends had confessed to him, but he had been turned down a few times by some of the more popular girls who didn't want to date a tennis jock. It had hurt, but made him realize he didn't want a girl who was only interested in titles and appearances. Suzuki could deal with being turned down if she had to, she just didn't want to.

"Whatever, Akira, it's your life," Marui said.

They dropped the conversation after that, heading out of the house and off to school. Suzuki still had her peach juice clutched tightly in her hand, but Marui was too busy breathing into his hands to hold anything.

.

Suzuki ran off with her friends the second they got to school. Marui rushed inside, rubbing his hands together as he walked over to his cubby, where Kirihara was holding his shoes out to him.

"Thanks, Akaya," Marui said, taking the shoes and setting them onto the ground. "Hey, how're things with your friends? They still sucking face in front of you?"

Kirihara shrugged. "Satoshi is still with his girlfriend all the time. I think she's a leech."

Marui smirked, putting his street shoes into his cubby. "Leech-y girlfriends, one of the creatures unique to high school. They stalk their pray, hiding behind walls before attacking, sucking the life out of their victim, and giving boners."

They started to walk, heading up the stairs for their first class.

"And what about that girl you hang out with? You said she has a boyfriend, didn't you?"

"Miho's better with it. She gets that it's kinda weird. Plus she's not into PDA… at school, at least." Kirihara frowned.

"Something wrong?" Marui asked.

Kirihara shook his head, still frowning. "Not really. I just remembered I need to stay after school to work on a project in the library for English. Could you tell Buchou?"

"What project?" Marui asked, suspicious.

"Miho, Satoshi and I need to remember some scene from Romeo and Juliet." He groaned. "It's gonna suck."

"Okay, I'll cover."

Kirihara shook his head. "No. No covering! Just tell the truth."

"Covering is more fun."

"Senp –"

"Bye!"

Marui waved to Kirihara, continuing down the hallway. Kirihara swore loudly as he turned down a hallway to get to his class. Kirihara slipped his hands into his pockets, wondering why the hell he couldn't have just forgotten that he needed to remember a scene from Romeo and Juliet. Perfect, just perfect. Now he had to remember all that English, and in a freakin' accent, and Marui-senpai was going to tell Buchou he had some embarrassing problem, and –

"Yo, Akaya!"

Seconds later, someone patted him on the shoulder, walking next to him. A few seconds after that, an arm was hooked with his.

"Miho, please get off of me," Kirihara said, wiggling out of the girl's grip.

"Okay, so Satoshi and I were talking about it, and we need a third opinion," Tanaka Miho said, letting go of Kirihara's arm.

"Miho, really?" Miyagi Satoshi asked with a heavy sigh. "You know what he's going to say."

"I do not! He could surprise me," Tanaka said, pointing an overdramatic finger at Miyagi.

"All males think alike, Miho. I'm sure even your boyfriend would agree with me on this," Miyagi continued.

"Uh, guys," Kiriahra said awkwardly. "I'm in the middle of this… Literally…"

"How would you know what he thinks?" Tanaka asked. "He's _my_ boyfriend. Unless there's something you're not telling us, Satoshi."

"I like vagina, if that's what you're asking," Miyagi said coolly.

"Oh, just tell me!" Kirihara yelled.

Miyagi sighed. "Fine. Ask him, Miho, but he's gonna say the same thing I did."

"If the bird of wisdom is an owl, and the bird of peace is a dove, what is the bird of lust?" Tanaka asked.

Kirihara paused to think. "The swallow?"

Tanaka rolled her eyes. Miyagi laughed.

.

Kirihara sat in the back of the class – a dumb mistake on the teacher's part – with Miyagi on his right, and Tanaka right in front of them. Class was usually boring for Kirihara. It was the same routine over and over again, year after year. The only thing that made school bearable was his friends. However, today, none of them were doing much of anything.

Kirihara was staring aimlessly out the window, Tanaka was doodling in the columns of her math notes ("And you wonder why you need me to tutor you?" Miyagi always asked her), and Miyagi was texting his girlfriend, using his math book as a wall to keep the teacher from seeing.

"Akaya," Tanaka said, taking a second away from her doodling to turn around. "We still meeting up in the library to remember Shakeslance?"

"Shakespeare," Kirihara corrected. "How can you not know that? You spend every second out of school with the drama club."

"Or us," Miyagi added. Kirihara nodded in agreement.

"I act. I don't learn history, or English, or _whatever!_ Are we meeting up or not?"

"Yeah," Kirihara said, Miyagi adding "yup" a second later.

"What scene are we doing again…?" Tanaka bit her lip, looking between the two boys.

There was a pause that seemed to last forever before Miyagi said, "_You're in drama_!"

"Whatever, you can tell me later," Tanaka said, waving it off as though it was nothing.

"Yeah. It's nap time," Kirihara mumbled to himself, crossing his arms for a pillow. Tanaka wished him sweet dreams, turning back around, while Miyagi began to try to stick things in Kirihara's curly hair.

.

After class, the trio was sitting in the corner of the library, leaning up against bookshelves. Tanaka was on her side, clutching her stomach as she laughed, Miyagi was unable to breath, and Kirihara was nearly crying.

They had managed to find a scene to do, but only Tanaka, playing Juliet, seemed to be able to keep character while reciting words of love to Miyagi, Romeo. Kirihara, Mercutio, kept fumbling over the words, laughing whenever he had to say "ho" or Miyagi said "bosom."

"We're – going to – fail," Kirihara croaked between his laughter.

Tanaka sat herself up straight, leaning on Miyagi's shoulder for support. "It's not my fault Miyagi called you Macaroni instead of Mercutio!"

The three became unable to speak, laughing hysterically at the mix up that had occurred moments before.

"I'm gonna piss my pants," Kirihara said.

"Oh, crap, I think I just did," Tanaka said, laughing even harder.

Miyagi paused, looking down at Tanaka awkwardly since she was still leaning on him. "Wait. Did you seriously just pee?"

"I almost have," Tanaka said.

"Then why did you say 'crap?' Crap and pee are two totally different things," Miyagi said.

"What am I supposed to say? Oh, urine?" Tanaka asked sarcastically, smiling.

"Yes," Miyagi said matter-of-factly. "We'll make 'urine' as popular as 'crap.' No one likes crap."

Tanaka sat up, wiping tears from her eyes. "This is too weird, Romeo, even for thou." She stood up, bowing to them. "I shall return in a moment, my love, Macaroni, for I need to use the royal shitter."

Miyagi began to laugh again as she walked away, but Kirihara simply looked at Miyagi. Miyagi, realizing Kirihara was staring, looked back.

"What?" Miyagi asked.

"Nothing."

"It's something," Miyagi said, wiping his eyes dry. "What?"

"Nothing, really." Kirihara shrugged. "You just smile more around Miho than with your girlfriend."

Miyagi smiled, tilting his head to the side in a goofy way and said, "Yeah..." Before Kirihara could figure out what that meant, he spotted someone familiar. Well, "someone" wouldn't be the correct term; "flamboyant red hair" would be the right term.

"Marui-senpai?" Kirihara said, loud enough for Marui, who was walking by with Jackal, but soft enough so the librarian wouldn't yell at him.

Marui stopped dead in his tracks, as did Jackal. "Yo, Akaya. What's up? How's Romeo and Juliet goin'?"

Kirihara shrugged. "As good as English can go for me, I guess."

"So a train wreck?" Jackal asked, smirking.

"Why are you guys here?" Kirihara asked, rolling his eyes. "Did Buchou cancel practice the one day I didn't show up?"

"Nah. There weren't enough machines in the gym, so he sent the doubles pairs home early," Marui said. "We're gonna study up in the loft. Niou and Yagyuu went to Sweet Treats, I think."

Tanaka walked around Jackal and Marui the second Marui finished talking, sitting down next to Miyagi, their shoulders brushing.

"We really need to get back to work, Senpai," Kirihara said, grabbing an English script of Romeo and Juliet off the floor. Marui and Jackal must have walked off, because Tanaka leaned on Miyagi's shoulder again, whispering, "Macaroni."

.

Their class recital was a disaster. Tanaka had borrowed props from the drama room (with permission, of course), and that only made things worse. Unable to find a sword in the drama room, Kirihara and Miyagi used bright orange plastic guns instead of swords. The feather in Miyagi's hat kept flopping over his face, and he was blowing at it half the time. Kirihara forgot half the words, and the ones he did remember he said at the wrong time. Tanaka ended up in a fit of hysterical laughter when Miyagi took her hands and said, "Juliet!" and made a kissy face.

"Enough!" their teacher yelled their third time Miyagi said "Macaroni."

The three went back to the seats, but got a standing ovation from the class as they did so. As they walked by, Kirihara saw that the teacher had written "creative use of satire" on the grade sheet.

The final bell of the day rang two performances later, none of which seemed to match up to the greatness of their own. They walked out of the classroom, still laughing and pointing their guns at each other. Half way down the hallway, Tanaka burst out into an off-key song.

"Yankee Doodle went to town, riding on a pony. He stuck a feather in his hat –" She grabbed Miyagi's hat, shoving it on Kirihara's head who blew at the feather that plopped in front of his face "–and called it Macaroni!"

The three kept walking down the hallway, laughing their heads off, ignoring the odd looks from under and upper classmen, including Marui and Suzuki.

"Were we that weird last year?" Marui asked.

Suzuki shrugged. "We've always been kinda weird, Bunta."

"True dat."

"Never say 'dat' again," she said, "it's a little too weird."

"Being weird is fun, though. The best moments of my life consist of me using straws to pretend to be a walrus, the weird little happy dance I do, and snorting because I'm laughing too hard to actually laugh."

"True dat," Suzuki said, smiling and knowingly contradicting herself. "The best moment of my life is when you hoped around like a kangaroo to get me to laugh instead of cry after my first boyfriend dumped me."

"Too bad I'm never gonna have to do that again," Marui said.

"Why not?"

Marui slipped his hands into his pockets, nodding a little ways ahead of them to Yoshida. "I'll talk to you later, Akira," Marui said, rushing off to the club room for afternoon practice.

.

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiro-shit."

Yagyuu gave Niou a look that showed how un-amused he was.

"See what I did there?" Niou asked, grinning as he opened his locker in the back of the locker room. "I made your name into a joke about poop."

Yagyuu sighed, opening up his locker as well. "One day, you will grow up, and the world will end."

"Nah. I doubt that will happen. I'll take over first."

Kirihara and Marui came in half way through Niou's speech about how he was going to take over the world, opening up their lockers.

"I hope we don't do practice matches," Kirihara said, tugging his shirt over his head, no bothering to unbutton it or take off his tie. As a result, he nearly choked himself. He tugged is shirt back down, huffing. "Damn."

"Someone's PMSing," Jackal said, stepping into his sweatpants. "What's gotten your boxers into a bunch?"

Kirihara shrugged. "Dunno. Tired, mostly. Been a long day."

"I know what you mean," Marui said. "We had a test in history day, and I'm pretty sure I bombed it like the f-word."

"How could you fail that?" Niou asked, zipping up his jersey. "We've been learning about samurai and feudalism and crap since like, grade school."

"I kept getting the shogunates mixed up," Marui mumbled. "So, Akaya, why was your day bad? I saw you and your friends; you seemed to be having a good time."

Kirihara shrugged again. "Satoshi's girlfriend showed up, and Miho ditched to go hang out with drama kids... I had to sit there and watch him and the leech make out as we walked. I didn't even know you could do that."

"Trust me, it's possible," Niou said.

Kirihara didn't ask how he knew, because Yukimura came out of the captain's office, blowing his whistle like he would die if he stopped.

"Stop gossiping like a bunch of girls, and haul your butts to the gym to do laps!"

Behind him, Sanada fixed his cap and Yanagi flipped to a new page in his notebook. It was going to be a long day.

.

After practice, the regulars headed to Sweet Treats. While Yagyuu and Yanagi got the smoothies, the others tried to cram themselves into a booth made for four people, not six (soon to be eight) large, athletic teenage boys.

"My legs hurt," Kirihara complained, rubbing his things. "I think that walk here killed them."

Yukimura played with the sugar packets. "You'll live."

Kirihara frowned. "Speak for yourself, Buchou, you have thighs of steal. I have thighs of my grandma's oatmeal."

Kirihara's lame joke made a few of them laugh, but their attention was quickly refocused on Yanagi and Yagyuu, who were unloading smoothies from their arms.

"Strawberry for Aka–"

"Mine!" Kirhara shouted, cutting Yanagi off.

"Watermelon-chocolate, unique," Yagyuu mumbled, passing it to Yukimura. "Here… here… you're welcome…"

The two grabbed two chairs from a nearby table, squishing in at the end of the booth's table. Kirihara blew his straw wrapper at Niou, who kicked him under the table. Sanada spilled his smoothie, and Marui was pretty sure he heard him whisper "shit" while reaching across the table for the napkins, which Niou and Kirihara had since taken hostage.

"Give me the napkins, Akaya, Niou," Sanada said, sighing.

"Ten thousand yen," Niou said.

"Per napkin," Kirihara added, sticking his tongue out.

Yanagi began to talk casually to Yagyuu, ignoring the Great Napkin Hostage between General Sanada and privates Niou and Kirihara. Marui and Jackal put their straws' wrappers in the middle of Sanada's spilled smoothie, trying to make them shrink up, toddler-fisting their wrappers on.

It was times like that that they really were just a bunch of immature teenage boys without a care in the world.

* * *

**A/N: Drop a review with your opinion on the story so far? Hate it? Love it? Realistic? Funny? Where you think it's going? What do you think of the OCs and how they interact with the cannon characters?**


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter 4.**

It was eleven o'clock at night on Saturday when Marui's phone rang. He rolled over, his legs tangling in the sheets on his bed, his hand groping his nightstand for his phone. He didn't bother looking at the number; he snapped his phone open and shoved it to his ear.

"What?" he hissed. "I was sleeping."

There was a silence, and Marui seriously contemplated killing whoever butt-dialed him. But that thought quickly left his mind.

"Is lunch a date?" Suzuki asked.

Marui sat up, turning on the lamp on his nightstand. "What? I dunno."

"I mean, dinner is a date, obviously, and so are movies. And I know that coffee in the morning is a couple-level date, but what about lunch? Is that a wimp date? Or is it just friends?"

Marui pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Breathe, Akira, breathe. What's going on?"

"I'm texting Yoshida, and he asked if I wanted to go to Sweet Treats with him for lunch tomorrow... I haven't said anything back because I don't know if that's a date or not," she said softly. "Is it?"

Marui wanted to laugh, but didn't. "With how much you two have been flirting, I would call that a date."

"I have a date with Yoshida," she said, smiling. Then she frowned. "What do I wear? Oh, my God. Bunta, what do I wear? I don't know what to wear. What should I wear?"

Marui did laugh this time. "Calm down, Akira. I would start with telling Yoshida you'll go with him."

"That does not solve my problem. What. Do. I. Wear?"

Marui sighed. "Hang up. Text Yoshida. Sleep. I'll stop by tomorrow, and you can worry then. Good night, Akira."

Suzuki had already hung up. Marui rolled his eyes, setting his phone on the nightstand, turning off the light and going back to sleep.

.

Marui rolled out of the bed at eight o'clock in the morning. He looked at his hair in the mirror and then ruffled it, too tired to find a comb. He lazily dressed into lazy clothes, consisting of lazy-day sweatpants, a lazy-day t-shirt, and lazy-day boxers, but not in that order. His lazy-day boxers went under his lazy-day sweatpants, of course. Even he wasn't_ that _lazy.

Marui walked out of his bedroom, yawning into his hand, wrinkling his nose as spit got on his hand. That was just disgusting. He wiped his hand dry on his pants, hurrying downstairs into the kitchen for breakfast.

"Good morning, Bunta," his mom said, turning over some omelet-type-thing on the stove. "Rice is already done, help yourself."

Marui made a noise, sitting down at the table in front of a bowl of rice. "Mom, I'm going over to Akira's later. I'll be back around lunch."

"Well, I have work until seven tonight," she said, wiping her hands on her apron, "your father is at work until five, and Haruto and Hikaru are doing some sort of poster project. I already told them they could order take-out for lunch, if they wanted. Leave a note if you want them to order you something."

"I'll just make some ramen or something," he said, poking at his rice with his chopsticks.

Before his mom could say anything else, his phone rang again. Marui reached into his pocket, opening up his phone and putting it to his ear.

"Good morning, Akira," he said.

"Did you even look at the number?" Niou asked.

"Oh, it's you. What's up?"

"You wanna come over to my place and work on our essays? Or I could come over to yours."

"I can't," Marui said, "I'm going over to Akira's in a minute."

"You made plans to work on your essay without me? I feel cheated," Niou said, chuckling.

"It's not that," Marui insisted, putting some rice in his mouth. "Bhe hab ma date with Yobhidma and bhe wab –"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Bunta," his mother said, giving him a look.

He swallowed "–freaking out over her clothes, so gonna go play fashion-oriented gay guy and help her."

"Wait. Suzuki has a _what _with who now?"

Niou sounded desperately confused, and Marui didn't blame him. Even if Niou had been able to understand Marui, the thought of Suzuki on a date was an odd one. Marui could count the people she had been on dates with on one hand, and the number of people she had kissed on his other hand. She wasn't exactly the girl people turned their heads to look at a second time – short, potty mouth, snort-laugh, smaller chest… A person is never accepted for more than their face value, even if they were beautiful in a different way.

"A date. With Yoshida something. I forget his name," Marui said. "It'll probably be all over school tomorrow, apparently this guy is popular."

"Well, good for her," Niou said, not completely meaning it.

Marui sighed, poking his rice again. "Don't be jealous because Akira has a date and you don't. If you want a date, go find a girl; I know at least two who would have sex with you, if I asked."

"Bunta, do not make me leave the kitchen," his mother warned, crossing her arms.

Marui turned around, looking at his mom with a nervous smile. "Sorry…?"

"And what Suzuki-chan does is her business. If she trusted you with something, keep it private. Spreading rumors about a girl is a sure fire way to piss her off. Remember, there's nothing worse than a woman scorn."

Marui stared at her for a moment. "You swore."

His mother flushed a little. "That's not a swear."

"You yell at me when I say it."

"I can ground you."

"Touché."

"Uh… dude, still here," Niou said.

Marui gave his mom the one-minute-finger. "Sorry, got distracted," Marui said, putting more rice into his mouth, chewing and swallowing before saying, "I'll talk to you later. I need to get going."

Marui hung up.

"You didn't say good-bye," his mom said.

Marui stood up, putting his phone into his pocket. "Guys don't say good-bye. We say what we need to, and then hang up."

"Men." She sighed. "I need to wake up your brothers, and get to work. Make sure you do your paper the second you get back form Suzuki-chan's."

"Yes, Mom," Marui said in his standard, annoyed teenage boy voice.

.

Marui was sitting on Suzuki's bed twenty minutes later, stirring sugar into the tea Suzuki's mom had brought up shortly after he had arrived. Suzuki was in her closet (for the third time since he had arrived), tossing out a variety of clothes and shoes into the middle of her small bedroom. One sweater covered the small black puppy that had desperately been trying to catch the clothes in her small mouth.

"You covered your dog," Marui said, taking a sip of tea.

Suzuki tossed out another pair of jeans and a single shoe, and then rushed to the moving blob in the middle of the room. She knelt down and pulled the sweater off, petting her puppy apologetically. "Sorry, Coco, I didn't mean to hit you. Go find Cinnamon, he'll play with you."

Coco barked, and then walked out of the room.

Suzuki sighed, staring at the clothes around her. She looked up at Marui. "Bunta, help."

"Just wear some jeans and a shirt," he said.

"But I don't want to look like a slob!"

Marui sighed, taking another sip of tea. "It's annoying when a girl dresses up all fancy for the first date. It's even more annoying when a girl wears skimpy clothes. Seriously, just jeans and a shirt."

"Which shirt?" she asked.

Marui looked at the clothes for a second. He decided in that moment that he would make a terrible girl, and was very thankful that he was a guy. He took another sip of tea, and pointed to the sweater in her hand.

"This?" she asked, holding it up. It was stripped –white and dark green– with a v-neck and long sleeves.

Marui nodded. "Yeah. That'll work. That and some jeans."

Suzuki scampered to her feet, grabbing a pair of jeans off the ground, and went into her attached bathroom.

"I'm gonna play with your hamster," Marui called as she shut the door. He got off of Suzuki's bed, and tapped on the hamster cage that was on her dresser. The hamster looked at his finger, and then went back to running on its wheel.

"Akira needs to be as chill as you, little guy," Marui said, taking another sip of tea. "She has a huge stick shoved up her tiny ass."

"I heard that!" Suzuki yelled.

"Hurry up then," Marui said. "How long does it take to put on a shirt and –"

The door opened up, and Suzuki walked out. The sweater sleeves were way to long, and Marui could see her fingers trying to roll the thick fabric up, but she gave up. "Well?" she asked, doing a small spin.

Marui took another sip of tea. "Fine. _Now_ can I go home? I have that essay and –"

"Wait, shoes!"

Marui groaned.

.

After calming Suzuki down as they walked down the sidewalk, he wished her good luck, did his bit of teasing, and turned into his driveway. He grabbed the spare key from the fake rock in the flower pot, letting himself in.

"Haruto, Hikaru, I'm back," he called, slipping out of his shoes and closing the door with his butt. He hurried upstairs, and managed to take two steps towards his bedroom when forward when he slipped on a soccer ball, falling down the stairs. He hit the wall at the bottom with a huge thump, wondering why his body could suddenly twist like it had.

"HARUTO! HIKARU! What the _hell _was that ball doing there?"

Two identical boys came running in from the kitchen, eyes filled with worry. "Are you okay?" Haruto asked, spotting Marui's pretzel-like body.

"Yeah, I guess," he grumbled. Marui pushed himself up, rubbing his butt a little. "Damn, that's gonna turn my ass purple."

"Sorry," Hikaru said quickly. Haruto nodded in agreement, mumbling, "Sorry, Bunta."

"You didn't answer my question: what was that ball doing at the top of the stairs?" Marui asked again, looking up at his brothers. He had to look up at his younger step-brothers. He felt pathetic.

"Dude, chill. You didn't get hurt. Besides, you have no idea how many twisted ankles we've gotten from your stupid tennis balls," Haruto said.

"This has nothing to do with my balls!" Marui said, hands balling into fists when they snickered. "What if Mom had slipped on that?"

"Mom's not stupid," Hikaru said.

Marui's nostrils flared. "And I am?"

"Well…"

"Um…"

"That wasn't supposed to be a hard question!" Marui practically yelled.

The twins sighed. "We're sorry, Bunta. We won't leave it out anymore," Haruto said. "_Really_."

Marui rolled his eyes, mumbled "screw you guys," and went up to his room to do his essay. Was he that rude back in junior high? He certainly hoped not.

.

Marui hit his printer again, yelling a few choice swear words that would usually get him grounded. The one time he does his essay is the one time his printer decides to break. He hated karma. Or irony. Or printers. Whatever it was, he hated it.

He hit 'print' again, and when he heard a ring, he tossed his hands into the air and shouted "victory!" Then he realized it was his phone, not his printer, and dove his hand into his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Bunta!"

Marui held his phone away from his ear, waiting a second before saying, "Hey, Akira, I guess the date went well? That or you think I'm death and feel the need to scream."

"'Well' is an understatement," she said. "I just got home. I would have stopped by, but he was walking me home and I thought that getting dropped off at another guy's house wouldn't be a good last impression. And it was a _good_ last impression."

"How was it a good _last_ impression? Do you plan on not seeing him again or something?" Marui asked, slightly confused.

"No, we already made plans for Wednesday night. We're gonna see that new movie," she said.

Marui had to keep himself from laughing. He had an image of Suzuki hopping up and down on her bed, Cinnamon and Coco cowering in fear of her in the corner and her hamster smoking pot.

"So, why was it a good last impression?" Marui asked, kicking his printer.

"He was a gentleman," Suzuki said matter-of-factly. "He kissed my hand when I showed up, pulled my seat out, paid for everything even though I insisted –"

"I do that," Marui pointed out, not impressed that some guy did all of that. "Except that hand kiss. That's kinda queer."

" – and he walked me home, and kissed me good-bye."

"Oh. I get it. You're just happy because he kissed you," Marui teased.

He could practically see her turning red. "It was a nice kiss!"

"Whatever. I'm glad you had fun and got some action."

"It wasn't action," Suzuki said. "It was just a kiss good-bye. Not tongue, closed mouth – "

"Okay. I don't need all the details. Please, you're making my afternoon look pathetic," Marui said, hitting 'print' again.

"What have you been doing?" Suzuki asked, curious.

"I'm in the middle of WWIII; Marui Bunta versus Printer from Hell."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"That sucks."

"_Yeah_."

.

Marui had spent the rest of his night helping his brothers with their project at his step-dad's request. For some reason, the soccer-ball incident wasn't brought up during dinner. He ended up emailing his essay to himself and printing it out in his brothers' bedroom because their printer wasn't out to get him.

The next morning, Suzuki tossed a pebble at his window. When he got downstairs, she was in his kitchen, nodding to a song playing in her head. They set off, talking about nothing in particular until they got farther into town.

"McDonalds?" Marui suggested, stopping in front of the restaurant. "I didn't eat breakfast."

Suzuki rubbed her hands together, nodding. "Anything to get outta this weather. It's freezing and the wind is killing my hair."

"It's not even that windy," Marui said, holding the door open for her. "Did Yoshida hold doors open for you?"

Suzuki rolled her eyes, punching him on the shoulder before going inside. "Yes, yes he did. True gentleman. And it's blowing harder than the school slut."

"Who's the school slut?" Marui asked, getting into line.

Suzuki shrugged. "Don't know."

"Toots. Friend of Toots."

The two turned around, face-to-face with Ito. Marui quickly turned back around, though, placing his huge breakfast order, starting with his large coffee.

Suzuki looked like she wanted to groan at the site of Ito, but she didn't. "What do you want, Ito? I was actually in a good mood."

"And why would that be?" Ito asked.

"That's none of your business," Suzuki said.

"It is my business, Toots. What with those joint baseball-softball afternoon practices we organized," Ito said, smirking.

Suzuki did groan. "You know I only did that because you wouldn't let us book the fields until the New Year."

"Yes, a very sad story," Ito deadpanned. "Now, why are you in a good mood?"

Before Suzuki could speak, Marui said, "She had a date with Yoshida something. Apparently it was amazing. Akira, order."

Suzuki turned around, glancing at the menu, said, "Number two," and then looked back at Ito.

"You want on a date with Yoshida, even after I told you he's an ass?" Ito asked.

"What? Are you offended or something because I didn't listen to you?" Suzuki asked. "You can't tell me who I can and can't go out with. And for your information, he was a –"

"Don't care," Ito cut in. "I'll see ya at practice, _Toots_."

Suzuki balled her hands into fists as he walked away, obviously fighting off the temptation to yell "Don't call me that!"

.

The school day flew by. Before any of them knew it, the tennis regulars were on the courts, and Yukimura was blowing his whistle like there was no tomorrow. They were freezing under their sweats and jerseys, but were drenched in sweat from running around correcting the younger members' posture.

Yagyuu stepped aside, slipping his glasses off when he thought no one was looking. He rubbed behind his ears with the sleeve of his jersey, trying to rub his sweat away so his glasses didn't slip every time he knelt to help someone fix their knees.

"Hiroshi."

Yagyuu didn't jump or scream. His eyes flicked up. "Niou-kun."

"Sweating isn't very gentleman like, is it?"

"The damn things keep slipping off my ears," Yagyuu mumbled.

Niou raised his eyebrows. Yagyuu rarely swore (in public, at least). "That must really bug you to make you dirty up your mouth like that."

Yagyuu put his glasses back on, though they immediately slipped down his nose a little. He took in a deep breath. "Niou-kun, back to practice."

"Whatever you say, 'roshi. But this moment is going on my blackmail list. Right next to the time you felt up that girl at my New Year's Eve party last year."

Yagyuu fixed his glasses, pushing them up with his middle finger.

Niou smirked. "I've taught you well, you subtle bastard."

.

After tennis practice was over, Marui walked over to the baseball/softball fields in hopes of catching Suzuki before the joint practice ended so he could tell her that he was heading to Niou's. When he turned the corner and a softball went flying past his head, he knew practice was still going on.

Suzuki and Ito were both on the pitcher's mound. Suzuki had her arms crossed, as though she refused to move from the spot. Ito was standing next to her, furious.

"Move, you little –"

"Don't call me little, you big oaf!"

The rest of their teammates were gathered around trees or sitting on the benches, watching their captains bicker. He spotted two people sitting on a bench close to him, and asked what was going on.

"Suzuki refuses to leave the mound," the girl said. Marui recognized her as one of Suzuki's close friends, Etsuko, vice-captain of the softball team.

Bando, vice-captain of the baseball team, grunted from his spot next to Etsuko. "Yeah, and Ito isn't helping. She messed up one pitch, and he went bat shit crazy. He picked her up and forcibly moved her off the field a couple minutes ago."

"They're insane," Etsuko said, as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world.

Marui sighed. "Oh, I know they're insane. Hey, Etsuko-chan, could you tell her not to wait for me?"

Etsuko nodded, rolling a large ball in her hand. "Yeah. Sure. Marui, right?"

Marui nodded. "Yup. See ya guys later, if your captains don't kill each other and you aren't busy covering it up."

Bando snorted. Etsuko laughed. Marui ducked as another ball was chucked at his head from the Ito-Suzuki skirmish.

Marui rushed out of there like he had a full body meat suit and a tiger chasing after him.

* * *

**A/N: I hate it when a tiger is chasing me, don't you? It just ruins my day.**

**Theglasseslover**: yes, I can see the regulars having some pretty funny friends outside of the tennis club, which is why I wrote them that way. It's ridiculous to think that they wouldn't. As for who has OC friends, well, you can just wait and see. Some OCs will come and go, but others will stay. This story is anything but short, and I don't want to scare people off by introducing a million OCs within the first few chapters :)


	5. Chapter 5

** Chapter 5.**

Marui was frustrated beyond belief. He had been in the kitchen for thirty minutes (and counting), looking for a paper clip for his essay. His teacher didn't like staples – go figure – and Marui could not find a paper clip for the life of him. He had found six different pairs of scissors, pink duct tape, ten different bug sprays, and enough on random crap to have the largest garage sale in history.

"Moooom," Marui yelled.

"What is it, Bunta?" his mother called from upstairs.

"Where are the paper clips?"

"Ask your father!"

Marui sighed, and went into the living room where his step-dad was talking on the phone to his ex-wife about where Haruto and Hikaru would be staying over winter break.

"Dad," Marui said, knocking on the living room wall.

"Hold on," his step-dad said, covering up the speaker. "What is it, Bunta?"

"Do you know where the paper clips are?"

"Ask your mother."

Marui groaned, heading up the stairs towards his brothers' room. According to his logic, if his mom didn't know, and if his step-dad didn't know, then Haruto and Hikaru must know. That, or paper clips were planning an ambush.

Marui knocked on his brothers' bedroom door, but didn't get a response. He went to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. He knocked again, harder. "Hey, Haruto, Hikaru, _open up!_"

There was a pause, the click of the door's lock, and then a heavy sigh from Hikaru as he opened up the door. "What? We were talking."

"One, way to be gay – talking, really? Two, don't lock your door unless you're jerking off or have a girlfriend over. Three, do you know where the paper clips are?"

Hikaru looked at Marui like he was insane. "You call us gay, scold us for locking out door, and then ask for paper clips? _Get the hell out_."

Marui put his foot in front of the door before Hikaru could close it. "No. Give me paper clips."

Hikaru rolled his eyes. "In the desk, somewhere," he said, letting Marui into their room, which was a mess. There were four soccer balls in the room, three of which were signed and up on a shelf, a dozen dirty shirts on the floor, boxers everywhere, and textbooks all over the place. It was like a mine field.

"You two need to clean before Mom sees this," Marui said.

Hikaru leaned against the wall by the door, crossing his arms. Haruto didn't move from his bed.

Marui opened up one of the desk drawers, moving aside a few papers before opening up another desk drawer. He pushed aside a rubber band ball and grabbed a handful of paper clips.

"That all?" Haruto asked.

Marui nodded, going back over to the door. Just before he turned, he asked, "What were you guys talking about?"

"_Girls_."

Hikaru slammed the door in his face.

Marui rolled his eyes and went down to hall to his room to print off his essay, if his printer decided to cooperate that is.

.

"Stupid machine!" Marui yelled, checking the paper in his printer. Everything was fine – ink, paper, and it was plugged in. It just wouldn't work, and he had the feeling Haruto and Hikaru wouldn't let him back into his room to print something out.

Marui gave up, deciding to worry about it later, and sat down on his bed to take a nap. The second his head hit the pillow, his phone rang. He groaned, letting it go to voice mail. He closed his eyes, and then his phone rang again.

He grabbed his phone off his nightstand, putting it to his ear. "Yeah?"

"Get your butt over here. You need to help me look for Kiwi," Suzuki said.

"Okay, I've enough freakin' searching for a life time, and you need help finding a fruit?" Marui sat up. Suzuki was forgetful at times, but finding a fruit? That was just ridiculous.

"No! Kiwi, my hamster!"

"Oh, the stoner one?"

"Yes! No! What? He's just a freakin' hamster! He got out of his little ball thing and now I can't find him. Coco isn't big enough to eat him yet, she's still a puppy, but Cinnamon is fully grown," she said. "Could you please come over and help?"

"Fine, fine," Marui mumbled. "Give me twenty minutes."

.

When Marui let himself into Suzuki's house with his key, Cinnamon, a large golden retriever, pounced on him. Marui laughed, gently getting away from the dog.

"Akira," he yelled, kneeling down and petting Cinnamon, "where are you?"

Suzuki came rushing down the stairs with a small black puppy, Coco, in her arms. "Bad Cinnamon! You're not supposed to attack guests!"

"It's fine, I love your dogs," Marui said, standing up straight.

Suzuki sighed, setting a barking Coco down. "Kiwi was in his exercise ball when he got out. I locked my bedroom door, and he's too fat to get underneath it, so I bet he's in there. That or he's in Cinnamon's stomach."

Marui frowned, looking down at Cinnamon, who was sniffing Coco. He looked at Suzuki. "Akira, I don't think that dog could harm a fly."

She shrugged, turning to go back upstairs. Marui followed after her, her dogs trotting up the stairs behind him. When they got to her bedroom door, Suzuki froze.

"What's wrong?" Marui asked.

"Spider! Kill it! Kill it!" she yelled, pointing to the wall next to her door knob.

Marui squinted, barely able to see a daddy-long-legs crawling along the door frame. "Damn," he mumbled, poking the small spider with his finger, "you have a sixth sense for seeing those things. Look, they don't hurt."

Suzuki jumped ten feet into the air and then ten feet away from Marui when he put his finger that had just killed the spider right in front of her face.

"This is why I hate you," she said, grabbing her arms.

Marui rolled his eyes, wiping his finger on his pants. "Happy?"

"No. I scared my dogs." She stopped holding onto her arms and petted her dogs on the head. "Sorry, Cinnamon, Coco."

"Okay, enough doggie-time. It's Operation Find Kiwi time," Marui said, opening up her bedroom door, watching the floor for the hamster.

Suzuki came into the room two seconds later, closing the door before her dogs could come in. "Did you see Kiwi run out?" she asked.

"No."

"Okay," she said. She let out a long breath, running a hand through her hair. "Let's get looking."

.

If Haruto's and Hikaru's room was a mess, Suzuki's was a catastrophe. The floor may have been clean and the desk organized, but everything was shoved under bed or into the back of her closet – old books, clothes, dog toys, old yearbooks, softballs, and everything else imaginable.

"This is ridiculous," Marui said, pulling his head out from under her bed. "We've been at this for, like, forever!"

Suzuki sighed, pulling her arm out from under her dresser. "It's only been half an hour, stupid."

"Oh, whatever," Marui said. "It _feels_ like forever."

Marui stood up, sitting on her bed. He went to lie down, when Suzuki screamed.

"Another spider?" he asked.

Suzuki rushed over to the bed, cupping the small hamster that was sleeping on her pillow. "Kiwi!"

"The hamster was sleeping the whole freakin' time?" Marui sounded furious. "How did you not see him? You can see a spider a mile away, but you can't see a fat ass stoner hamster on your pillow?"

"Sorry?" Suzuki looked hopefully at Marui.

"'Sorry' does not cover it."

"Will a fruit bowl at Sweet Treats?"

"Fruit salad. It's a goddamn fruit salad, Akira." Marui sighed. "And, yes, that will work."

.

Suzuki wouldn't stop complaining about how cold it was the whole way to Sweet Treats. When they got inside, she was still complaining. Marui rolled his eyes, getting in line.

"Akira, shut up," Marui said. "Could I get a smoothie, too?"

"You sound like a six year old," she said. She grabbed her wallet out of her purse and opened it. She moved a few bills around and sighed. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Gee, thanks Mom," Marui joked.

Suzuki smiled, listening as Marui ordered a fruit salad ("Fruit bowl," she muttered under her breath) and a blueberry smoothie.

"And for you, Sweetheart?" the cashier asked.

Suzuki was pretty sure she turned pink. "A chocolate muffin and a small lemonade."

"Okay, one fruit bowl, a medium blueberry smoothie, one chocolate muffin, and a small lemonade. That all?" the cashier asked.

"Yup." She handed him a few bills.

He handed her back her change, her receipt, and told them their order number.

When the two moved aside to wait for their order, Suzuki shoved the receipt and change into her purse as Marui pulled at her hair.

"What?" she asked.

"You might be happy to see a certain someone…"

"What are you talking about, Bun –"

Two arms wrapped around Suzuki's torso, hugging her from behind. Marui felt a little uncomfortable as he watched Yoshida pick Suzuki up and twirl her like a kid. It was jealousy, it was a lonely feeling, and it sucked.

"Put me down!" she squeaked, laughing. Yoshida smiled, putting her down. She turned around, getting up on her toes to kiss him quickly. He put a hand on the small of her back, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again.

Marui coughed.

They broke apart.

"On a date with someone else?" Yoshida asked, looking over her shoulder at Marui.

Suzuki unwrapped her arms, getting off her tiptoes, lacing her fingers with his. "No. Just a friend. Yoshida, this is Bun – er, Marui. And, Bunta, you already know about Yoshida…" She bit her lip.

Yoshida nodded once – Marui never understood that gesture, it looked stupid, but he nodded back anyways so he didn't make Suzuki mad.

"Number twenty two."

Marui grabbed the tray that had just been placed on the counter. He turned to Suzuki and Yoshida; the two seemed oblivious to the world around them. Marui coughed again – his break-it-up-already noise of the day. Suzuki looked at him.

"Oh. Right. Food."

Yoshida nodded towards a booth by the window. "Come on. The team and I are here. I'm sure they won't mind you sitting with us."

"And Bunta…?" Suzuki looked at Marui, and then back at Yoshida.

Yoshida shrugged. "Why not?"

The three walked over to the booth, Suzuki and Yoshida still holding hands. Yoshida slid into a booth, and then patted the seat for Suzuki to sit down next to him. Without being told to, one of the basketball boys reached to the table behind the booth, grabbing a chair without getting up. He slid it in front of Marui.

"Thanks," Marui mumbled, kicking the chair so he was sitting somewhere near Suzuki. He set the tray down in front of them, popping the lid off of his fruit salad.

"Team, this is Suzuki," Yoshida said, smiling at Suzuki. He shifted his glance to Marui. "And that's Marui."

The boys grinned at Suzuki. "We know who you are," one of them said with a smirk that made Marui uneasy. "Yoshida won't shut up about you."

Suzuki grinned, grabbing her lemonade. Yoshida smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder. Marui put an apple slice in his mouth, feeling a little more than awkward being at the table.

* * *

**A/N: Whenever I need something, I always find scissors instead. When I need scissors, I can't find a pair in the whole dang house. **

**LFan4Ever:** I'm glad you think it's a good mix between real and fiction. It's odd writing in the little things that make life funny. I mean, I don't include a grand paperclip search in all my stories. (I don't think anyone does. (Anyone sane.))


	6. Chapter 6

** Chapter 6.**

Marui felt like a zombie. He had had his coffee, he had eaten, but nothing could make him feel happy when Suzuki was raving about her latest date with Yoshida.

"He's so funny," she said.

"Yea-_aaaaah_," Marui yawned. "Can't we get going? One more tardy and Yukimura will have my ass."

Suzuki nodded, grabbing her things but continuing to talk about her date with Yoshida. Perfect gentleman, didn't know what Ito was talking about, blah, blah, blah…

Marui was getting sick of it. It made him realize he was alone.

As they walked out of Marui's house, Suzuki stopped talking, pulling her vibrating phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open, eyebrows pushing together as she read the text message.

"Is it from Yoshida?" Marui asked, peeking at the message.

Suzuki shook her head. "Etsuko. She asked if it was true."

"If what's true?"

"Don't know, battery just died," Suzuki said, frowning. "Stupid phone."

.

People turned their heads into the most awkward positions to see Marui and Suzuki as they walked by, which was… strange. People turned heads to look at Marui, perhaps at Suzuki, but never at them together. They dealt with the they're-in-love rumors back in junior high – they were friends, not the couple everyone stared at whenever they were together.

"Akira, something strange is –"

Suzuki jumped, punching Marui, hard. "Don't do that ever again!"

"Do what?" Marui asked, rubbing his arm. "Damn, that hurt!"

"You – you –!" She turned pink. "You slapped my butt!"

Marui's face went from twisted-in-pain to confused in a fraction of a second. "I _what_? Akira, you know –"

"Geez, it was me," a voice from behind them said. The two turned around and saw a boy neither of them recognized. He looked rather smug as he said, "Just seeing if what Yoshida said was true."

Suzuki froze.

"Yoshida? What did Yoshida say?" Marui asked.

"That she has a nice ass. Actually, that she has a nice everything. Could I take you for a ride –"

Suzuki punched him.

Anyone who wasn't looking before was looking now. Suzuki was fuming, chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. Marui stared at the boy who was clutching his nose, mumbling something that sounded exactly like "slutty bitch."

"_What_ did Yoshida say?" she asked, not caring how many people were looking. She never did care for appearances. "

"Akira, drop it, let's _go_," Marui hissed, grabbing her wrist.

"No! This ass is gonna tell me what Yoshida said about me," Suzuki yelled, ripping her wrist away from Marui.

The boy with the bloody (possibly broken) nose took a step back, holding up his red hands. "He just said you put out. He also said you were a screamer. I was just seeing if it was true."

"Put out?" Suzuki repeated softly. She balled her hands into fists, as if she was going to punch him again. She didn't. She turned on the soles of her shoes and rushed into the building.

Marui went to follow her, but his eyes caught sight of Jackal and Niou rushing towards him.

"Dude, what happened?" Niou asked, dragging him aside.

"I don't know! We got here, some guy slapped her ass, and she went berserk!"

"When you said she's been going on dates with Yoshida… did you mean Yoshida Kazuo?" Niou asked.

Marui nodded.

Jackal and Niou looked at each other. Jackal sighed. "Uh, Bunta, that's the Yoshida who says he sleeps with all those girls. He actually did sleep with some of them, but now people just expect him to get, ya know, and he says he does all these things –"

"Basically, the guy's a huge sleaze ball," Niou cut in, crossing his arms. "How could you _not _know that?"

"I don't listen to gossip, it's bull, and you know that!"

"Well, that doesn't mean other people don't believe it," Jackal said.

"Yeah, this guy is popular only because he gets ass," Niou added.

Marui wanted to punch Niou. "Do not say 'ass.' We're talking about Akira. She isn't just some piece of –"

"You know I didn't mean –"

"I know, but he's saying he slept with her!" Marui shouted. "That's bull –"

"Calm down," Jackal said. "It's her problem, not yours. Besides, if she keeps punching every guy, she's bound to hit Yoshida eventually."

Marui groaned. "This _sucks_."

"How do you think she feels?" Niou asked.

"Don't care. I'm going to kill him," Marui said. "Anyone who messes with Akira messes with me."

"Yes, protect her like the weakling she is," Niou said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Dude, she could beat you up. She might be a girl, but she's scary."

"Yeah. Yoshida was an idiot for messing with her," Jackal said.

Marui shook his head. "She won't touch him. She'll punch and scream at anyone but him, and force herself to smile and say she's fine. Confronting him means giving up – she's too proud."

"You say that like it's a good thing," Niou said. "Last time I checked, psycho girl becoming a time bomb is a no-no."

"It's not a good thing," Marui said, the bell ringing. "But there's nothing I can do. Let's get to class."

"You're seriously just going to leave her alone?" Niou asked.

"Bunta, that doesn't sound very smart. I know I don't know her like you do, but –"

"It's not my problem, you said so yourself," Marui said. "She'll be fine. She's strong."

Niou shrugged. "Whatever, dude, she's your best friend."

"What am I, chopped liver?" Jackal asked.

Niou smirked, putting an arm around Jackal's shoulder. "You, my friend, are the third wheel."

Jackal rolled his eyes. Marui forced a laugh, telling himself that the rumor would stop; they all did over time… right?

.

"Suzuki-chan, the principal would like to see you," the teacher said during the beginning of lunch.

Suzuki stood up, earning a shrug from Marui and an "it wasn't me" from Niou. When she left the room, Niou and Marui looked at each other.

"I didn't think that guy was going to squeal," Niou said. "Who the hell admits that a girl punches them? That's against the Guy Code."

"She's_ so_ screwed," Marui said. "Even if that guy she decked wasn't going to tell, he couldn't fake that nose. She made it bleed with one punch."

"What'd you think the principal is going to say?" Niou asked, pulling a bento out of his bag.

"A call home? Suspension? Expulsion from extracurricular activities?" Marui suggested. "I don't know what they do for fights."

"How can you not want to kill Yoshida?"

"Oh, I want to," Marui said, pulling out and opening a bento. He grabbed his chopsticks, poking at his rice. "I want to shove a tennis racquet up his ass, balls down his throat, and castrate him."

"No need to be so graphic, or loud," Niou said. "People are looking at us enough today."

"No, they're looking at her," Marui said, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip on his chopsticks. "They're looking at Akira like a piece of meat."

His chopsticks broke.

.

Suzuki didn't return from the principal's office. She hadn't called Marui, texted him, or come to his house.

Marui was sitting on his bed, trying to work through his history homework when his phone rang. He didn't look at the number, and put the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, what's up?" Marui asked.

"Bunta," Suzuki said, "if I go to jail for attempted murder, will you help break me out?"

"That depends," Marui said. "Are you going to kill Niou? Because, no, he has cameras worth more than my house and he'd track us down and kill us slowly. If you're talking about Yoshida, hell to the yeah."

"I'm talking about Ito," she said. "I got suspended from the team for a week, and I had to tell him. He laughed. _Laughed. _The ass is going to be in charge of my girls, Bunta, I will not let this happen."

"So you're okay? I mean, you're not in trouble other than the suspension?" Marui asked.

"Well, I have after school detention for the week I'm suspended," she said. "I mean, considering what happened, it could be worse."

"Did the guy who hit on you get in trouble? Don't we have a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment?"

"No. He said he had no idea why I hit him. Said he tapped my shoulder, and I punched him."

"Just saying you punched him is a blow to his pride," Marui said. "And I could totally get a gang together. Well, I don't think I could, but I bet Jackal knows some hardcore dudes from the gym he boxes at."

"I don't care about that jerk," she said. "I care about my girls being bossed around by Ito and Bando."

"Well, Etsuko will be there," Marui said.

Suzuki didn't care. She seemed to be extra mad at Ito, and Marui didn't ask why.

.

A few days later, and Suzuki was still pissed at the world. Marui couldn't really blame her though, and had no idea what to tell her. He felt guilty, seeing what she was going through. He used to be the one to say how girls put out. He never went as far as Yoshida, claiming girls had slept with him – everyone knew Marui was a virgin and damn proud – but he did exaggerate a little in the locker room, saying things got hot and heavy.

Marui left practice, overhearing a bit of average locker room talk, which involved something about boobs and asses. He held in his comments, hurrying out of the room and towards the front gate where Suzuki would be waiting for him.

"How was practice?" Suzuki asked, slipping her hands into her coat pockets.

Marui shrugged. "Boring. The first years still can't get their form right – they should have fixed that back in junior high and it pisses me off."

"They could be newbies," Suzuki said.

"I don't care; they suck." He rolled his shoulders. "Oh, and I need to stop by the Corner Market before we go home," Marui added.

"Okay, whatever."

.

The Corner Market was a small convenience store that the two passed on their walk from school to their houses. It seemed to have a little of everything, which made it the one-stop-shop for when they were starving.

Suzuki grabbed a pint of peach juice off the refrigerated shelf in the back, holding the door as Marui grabbed a container of milk.

"Milk? Really? Your mom couldn't pick that up?" Suzuki asked, heading up to the counter with Marui.

He shrugged. "She's busy at the hospital. They had to cut back on more nurses, and her hours went up again."

"Oh, I didn't –"

"It's fine," Marui said, setting the milk down in front on the counter for the cashier as he rummaged through his bag for his wallet. "I'll pay for your juice, Akira."

Suzuki nodded, mumbled "thanks," and set her juice down next to the milk. "I'll pay you back."

Marui pulled his wallet out with a "gotcha" and pulled out a few bills. "No problem."

He paid the cashier, waiting for his receipt and the bagged items. The second the bag hit the counter, Suzuki grabbed her peach juice and opened it.

"It's been a long day," she said when Marui gave her a 'really?' look.

.

Marui was sitting on his bed, flipping through his history book. Suzuki was at his desk, using his laptop to check the weather – one of many procrastination techniques she was using in order to avoid reading about the Ottoman Empire.

"It's gonna rain later this week," she mumbled. "The day I can finally finish my detention and get back to practice. Of _course_ it's going to rain."

"Why can't it snow? It's almost winter, we need some freakin' snow," Marui commented, flipping his page with a lot more force than necessary. It ripped. "Shit."

"Just forget it, teachers don't check every page," Suzuki said. "My math page has juice stains over the answer pages in the back."

"At least you can't cheat now," Marui said.

"I can still read the answers. They're just all sticky."

"That's what you said."

Suzuki shut his laptop, turning in the swirly-chair to look at him. "What?"

"You know, 'that's what she said.' Only, because of the rumors, it's what you said." Suzuki raised her eyebrows. Marui shut his book. "Still too early to joke about it?" Marui asked.

Suzuki nodded, lips pressed together. "Just a bit, Bunta, _just a bit_."

"Do you regret it?" Marui asked before an awkward silence could set in. "Going out with Yoshida?"

Suzuki thought about it for a moment, and then shook her head. "No. I regret that I didn't see what an ass he is sooner, but I don't regret having a good time. I might be paying for it now, but for a few hours a day, when he was around, I was happy. Happiness is worth more than horny boys making crude jokes and girls calling me a slut."

"That's one way of looking at it, I guess," Marui said.

"Why ask? Do you regret going out with some of your ex-girlfriends?" she asked.

"I don't know, I guess. Some of the earlier ones that I dated back in junior high. Especially the first few. The one I gave my first kiss to, the ones I yelled at my parents over… I know I've dated a few girls just because I could," Marui said, shrugging.

Suzuki made a noise.

"I wish it was like it was in the movies," she said. "But then I would probably end up with Ito 'cause of the whole love-hate thing people seem to love. God, I _hate_ clichés."

"Not a big fan of romance movies," Marui said. "I think they give girls delusions about dating. I've dated some pretty messed up chicks who thought I would spend all my time with them, and tell them I love her in like, two weeks. It's annoying. Kinda creepy, too."

Suzuki spun around in the chair a few times, stopping when she felt dizzy. "It's weird how everyone thinks people can't just be friends or enemies. Sometimes that all it is, just black and white. There aren't shades of gray between two people. They're one thing, or they're another. There're not lovers who hate each other, otherwise there wouldn't be lovers, they'd be sex buddies."

Marui looked at her. "If you had a penis, you would be a wise, wise man."

"Why aren't I a wise woman?" Suzuki asked.

"Wise man sounds better than wise woman." Marui shrugged. "If words sound better in a certain order, that's the right way."

She rolled her eyes, grabbing her bag off the floor. "I'm going home. I need to feed Cinnamon and Coco."

"Tell your stoner hamster that I said hi."

She rolled her eyes another time, yelling "bye" from the hallway with a smile. She flipped her phone open once she left Marui's house. Twenty messages from people she didn't know, all asking for sexual things. She balled her hands into fists after putting her phone away, her nails digging into her palms.

* * *

**A/N: To be honest, this chapter bugs me. I don't know why, but it does. It seems sudden and random, but it's important for Suzuki's development as a character, and that's what this story is, a long-term character development of the regulars and their close friends. **

**Serious note: I am extremely busy with school work this semester, and my updates will be coming slower and slower. If I don't update for awhile, don't panic. I'm just busy.**


	7. Chapter 7

** Chapter 7.**

Instead of the usual pebble against his window, Marui heard a knock on his door. Yawning, Marui stumbled over to his door, half-asleep. He opened it up, rubbing his eyes.

"It's raining, I let myself in," Suzuki said, twisting her hair until little drops of water came out.

"I'll meet ya down in the kitchen, Akir-_aaaa_," Marui said, yawning.

He closed the door in her face. She rolled her eyes, heading down the stairs to steal some fruit for her breakfast.

Marui changed into his uniform, running his fingers through his hair because he still couldn't find his comb. He grabbed his bag off his desk chair and hurried downstairs.

Suzuki was sitting at the table, slowly chewing on a bite of apple.

"One of my brothers'?" Marui asked.

Suzuki swallowed, visibly shivering. "Yes and _yuck."_

"They're always going to get the mushy kind; I don't get why you keep trying to eat them," Marui said, taking the apple out of her hand and tossing it in the trash. He opened up the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and a small container of lemonade. He tossed the lemonade to her.

"Not in the lemonade mood," she said as she stood up to put it back in the fridge. She moved a few things around. "No peach?"

"Too sweet," Marui said, grabbing a granola bar and shoving it into his pocket. "Come on, off to that hell hole we call school."

"I want peach juice," she said. "Can't we stop at the Corner Market? We pass right by it."

Marui sighed. "Fine. Whatever. _Let's go_."

.

Even with umbrellas, the two were soaked when they got to school. Suzuki tossed her now-empty can of peach juice into the trash as they headed inside. They walked over to where the other students were twirling their umbrellas dry.

"Surprised you didn't walk here in just a white shirt," a girl commented to Suzuki. "Being modest today and wearing a coat?"

Suzuki spun her umbrella in the girl's direction, droplets of water flying through the air. Suzuki just smiled, said, "Yeah, I guess so," and closed her small umbrella. When she went to get her shoes out of her cubby, she saw that the prankster had taken her shoes and put them up in the top cubby (again), which she couldn't reach.

Marui tried to ignore her struggles, not wanting to startle her and get punched, quickly getting on his shoes and putting his umbrella in his cubby.

"Marui-senpai, did you hear?"

Marui turned around, looking up at Kirihara. "Hear what? Is there another rumor about Akira besides the sex thing?"

Kirihara shrugged.

"Then what is it?"

"They canceled practices because of the rain. Buchou said he would text everyone when he got a chance. Just thought you should know."

"That's awesome. Now I have more time for homework," Marui said sarcastically. "I hate practice, but I hate it even more when we don't have it."

"I'm a border-line practice hater."

"I see," Marui said, not sure what else to say. He'd known Kirihara since junior high, but still had nothing to say to the guy for small talk. "Well," Marui said awkwardly, "I should go help Akira get her shoes down. Don't know if I'll be able to reach them, though. I hate being short."

"Try getting the 'how's the weather up there?' comments from frustrated mini-sized first years who were regulars in junior high last year," Kirihara said.

Marui made a face. That did _not _sound fun.

.

Class was boring, not that it was ever exciting. Suzuki doodled in the columns of her math notes, littering page upon page of notes with poorly drawn flowers and stick-figures. Niou ended up falling asleep after chemistry, drooling on his desk and making the girls around him giggle. Marui just stared out the windows, watching the rain.

When the bell rang, Niou woke up and grabbed his bag. "See you two later," Niou said.

"Where're you going?" Marui asked.

"Library."

Marui and Suzuki stared at him.

"I'm meeting Hiroshi, don't look like I just kicked you in the kidneys," Niou said. "See ya guys. Don't screw anyone, Suzuki."

She made a rude hand gesture as Niou left.

"He didn't mean it," Marui said.

She shoved her books into her bag. "Whatever."

.

Niou had only been in the library a handful of times out of his own free will. He only came willingly when his eyes caught a pretty nerd, or when he needed to talk to Yagyuu. Every other time he had been forced to. There was that time when they were first years being given a tour and Niou had stuck gum in some girl's hair. Their English class came once a month, usually to do a project.

He headed to the row of tables, having spotted Yagyuu talking to a girl. He sat across from him, his bag hitting the table with a thump. "Hey, Hiroshi."

"I'll talk to you later, Yagyuu-senpai," the girl said, standing up and leaving with a smile.

Niou stretched out his neck, waiting until the girl was out of sight to ask, "Your girlfriend?"

Yagyuu fixed glasses. "No. The president of the first year class. She wanted to talk about the winter dance."

"We're having a winter dance? They haven't said anything in the newsletters."

"Yes, there is one every year, but almost no one attends because the funds only go to one class, and it's poorly advertised. I wasn't aware there was a dance until I became president."

Niou made a noise. "It's news to me."

"Well, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"What are your opinions?"

"On a dance?" Niou shrugged. "If you want to do it, publicize it. Announcements, newsletters. You could have clubs create teams for a dance off, I'm sure that would attract people. Oh, and donate half the money from the tickets to a charity – it makes the student council look good – then split the rest of the money evenly between the three classes. But give a bit to whoever wins the dance off, if you do that."

"I was asking about the girl, but that works too," Yagyuu said. Niou choked on air. Yagyuu smiled. "I was joking, Niou-kun. However, truthfully, you've inherited your father's business skills."

"Yeah, whatever."

Niou rocked his chair back onto its back legs, watching Yagyuu open up a book. Niou began to hum a song, waiting for Yagyuu to finish before he bugged him. However, ten minutes of humming later, Yagyuu slammed his book shut.

"_What_?" Yagyuu whispered harshly.

Niou set his chair down on all fours. "My dad wants me to sit in on some meeting."

"That make sense," Yagyuu said slowly, cocking his head to the side, "seeing as how you're going to inherit the company once your father dies or retires. Are you acting stupid today? Or are you drunk again?"

"I'm not acting stupid – I could figure out that much about my own family. And I haven't had a drink since last year when I humped the piano," Niou said. "I just don't want to."

"Don't want to what? Hump another piano?"

Niou rolled his eyes. "Now look who's acting stupid. I don't want to take over the company."

"I'm aware," Yagyuu said. "You've mentioned that before. Have you thought of a reason about not wanting to take over the company, or is there some other major development in this plot that I'm not aware of?"

"You're good at psychology and crap," Niou said, leaning his chair back again. "What'll make him not want to give me the company?"

Yagyuu shook his head, opening his book again. "You're an idiot. Your father has a successful company that, once you inherit, will provide for the rest of your life expenses in two years. I can't possibly see why –"

Niou dropped his chair to its feet. "It wasn't exactly my childhood dream to take over daddy's company."

"It's not like you're inheriting a curse. You're inheriting a multi-trillion yen company, Niou-kun –"

"Stop thinking inheriting some company is wonderful, when I have no fucking say in the matter!"

Niou grabbed his bag as he stood up. He made a bee-line for the door, not even caring that he walked right through Kirihara, Tanaka and Miyagi on the way out.

"Hey, Niou-senpai!" Kirihara yelled. Niou made a rude hand gesture (the finger of the day), rushing towards the stairs, disappearing seconds later.

"What the hell was that about?" Miyagi asked.

Kirihara shrugged. "Dunno. Niou-senpai's a bit odd."

"Who cares?" Tanaka asked. "Okay, Akaya, I dare you to… walk up to that creepy looking girl with the raccoon eyeliner and act like you've been best friends for ages," she said, pointing to the girl that was coming up the stairs.

"She looks like she'll disembowel me," Kirihara said. She had a lip ring, an eyebrow ring, raccoon eyeliner, and pink stripes in her hair. He usually didn't judge people, but she was just… murder-like.

"You have to, or you have to, well, you know," she said, smiling.

It was their game, 'Boredom Dares.' If all three of them agreed they were bored and no one could think of anything to do within five minutes, they randomly asked each other dares. No truths, just dares. If they refused to do the dare, they had to walk around with a wet spot on their pants for a full school day.

Kirihara looked back at the girl, down at his crotch, at the water bottle sticking out of Miyagi's bag, and then back at his crotch.

"Well, damn," he mumbled, and headed over to the girl.

.

Kirihara was still rubbing his face where the girl had slapped him when they got to his apartment. The three immediately moved through the small kitchen-living area and into Kirihara's bedroom. Tanaka was sitting on the floor, braiding the lower half of her hair with Miyagi's head in her lap. Kirihara was on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"I don't understand the problem," Kirihara sighed. "We're so awesome, but we get so damn bored."

"We're so awesome we're boring?" Miyagi suggested.

Tanaka put a ponytail around her half-braided hair as she said, "Well, figure out something, Mr. and Mr. Awesome. I'm going to the restroom to powder my nose."

"Do you even know what that means, Miho?" Miyagi asked.

She shrugged. "It's my polite way of seeing I need to pee. Now move."

She nudged Miyagi's head onto the floor, standing up to leave. Miyagi sat up before he saw up her skirt, turning to Kirihara the second she left the room.

"I broke up with my girlfriend," he said.

Kirihara raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Don't whisper, you idiot, I told Miho already. Actually, I told her first." Miyagi shrugged. "And I like someone else."

"Who?"

Before Miyagi could answer, Tanaka was back in the room. Miyagi and Kirihara stared at her as she stood there in the doorway.

"Do you need help finding the bathroom?" Miyagi asked.

"No, I don't need help. I just remembered what it means to powder your nose. In olden times, girls used to powder their noses to keep them from shinning. We do it before plays sometimes."

"Only you would come back before you went to the bathroom to tell us that."

"I didn't want to forget!"

She closed the door again, mumbling something about being right back.

"She's insane, isn't she?" Miyagi got a stupid grin on his face as he lied down and laughed, clutching his stomach.

Kirihara stared down at Miyagi for a second before saying, "Miho? You broke up with your girlfriend because you like Miho?"

Miyagi didn't hear him over his fit of hysterical laugher.

.

After Miyagi and Tanaka had left and his parents had come home, Kirihara was sitting in his room. Bored out of his mind, he remembered something form early that day and grabbed his phone.

He typed in a number he had memorized a long time ago, and a few rings later, he heard, "Yo."

"Hey, Niou-senpai," Kirihara said.

"What's up, Akaya? Need help on math again?" Niou asked.

Kirihara shook his head even though Niou couldn't see him. "No. Just wondering why you were in such a pissy mood early."

"Oh, yeah, sorry 'bout running into you and your friends."

"You're not sorry. You aren't a sorry-type of person."

"Of course I'm not," Niou said. "I was just fighting with Hiroshi, you nosey brat. I got mad. People get mad, believe it or not."

"About what?"

Niou was silent for a second. "Dude, you're acting really gay. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just bored."

"Then call Sanada and try to make him spell I-CUP."

Niou hung up, hitting the speed dial without a moment to spare.

There was a pause, a shuffling of papers – Yagyuu had been in the middle of working out the costs of a winter dance – and then Yagyuu said, "Hello?"

"Forgot about our fight, I have a prank and I need your help. It involves pee and a cup," Niou said, adding, "And Sanada," a few seconds later.

Yagyuu sighed. "And how did you think of this genius plan?"

"I told Akaya to make Sanada spell I-CUP, and I'm glad you agree it is a genius plan."

Yagyuu sighed again. "You are a very strange person, Niou-kun."

"Eh. Strange is fun." Niou smiled. "You go back to working like a nerd, and I'll see you tomorrow at morning practice, if I'm not already running laps for putting a cup of pee in Sanada's locker – that was the prank, in case you couldn't figure that out."

"I managed to work out that much," Yagyuu said. "Good-bye, Niou-kun."

Niou hung up, dialing in Marui's number. Never before in his life did he think he would be talking to three different guys on the phone in one night – he felt like a phone sex whore (a bad one at that).

.

"Haruto! Hikaru! Give that back!" Marui yelled, jumping over the sofa in the living room of his house for his phone.

"Why? Naked pictures?" Haruto asked.

"Naked pictures of guys?" Hikaru asked, smirking as he held the phone up high in the air.

"I. Hate. Being. Short!" Marui shouted, staring at his younger step-brothers.

"Why do you want it?"

"Because it's mine!"

"That's not a good answer."

"I'm older, so I'm always right," Marui said in an end-of-story-give-me-my-phone-before-I-call-Mom tone.

Haruto and Hikaru hummed, looking at each other in thought, before turning their attention back to Marui and shaking their heads.

"Nah. I'm really interested in what's on your phone, now that you're so protective over it," Haruto said.

Marui growled, kicking Hikaru in the shin. Hikaru swore, grabbing his knee and dropping the phone in the process. With not-so-ninja-like moves, Marui fumbled with the phone, but grabbed it before Haruto could.

"Ha!" Marui shouted in victory. "Suck my dick, losers, because you suck!"

Haruto rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Bunta. It was a joke."

"Yeah, we have no intent of looking at pictures of penises," Hikaru said.

"Eh. Whatever. I still won," Marui mumbled, opening up his phone before hurrying upstairs to his room.

The second he closed his door, his phone rang.

"Thank God I got it back," he said to himself, pressing his phone between his ear and shoulder as he sat on his bed to take off his socks. "Yellow?"

"Correct, it has to do with yellow," Niou said.

Marui tossed a sock across the room, the other joining it as he said, "I feel like I missed something. I missed something, didn't I? Speaking of missing things, you missed the funniest thing."

"Don't care," Niou said. "I'm gonna pee in a cup and put it in Sanada's locker so when he opens it the pee spills all over him, that takes precedence over anything I missed."

"Akira threw a smoothie at Ito at Sweet Treats," Marui said. "Ito and Bando – that vice-captain dude or whoever – showed up at Sweet Treats, and Ito just started talking to Akira. He mentioned Yoshida, Akira flipped, and tossed her smoothie at him. I nearly pissed my pants laughing. _Wait._ Did you say you're going to pee in a cup? What the hell? That's disgusting!"

"It's a long story my friend, a long story that doesn't matter. Operation Yellow will commence at morning practice. Would you like to RSVP?"

"Hell to the yeah."

* * *

**A/N: I finally dropped the f-bomb. To be honest, I'm surprised it took this long for that little bugger to pop up. **


	8. Chapter 8

** Chapter 8.**

Suzuki was walking to class with Etsuko, who was in the classroom next to hers, Marui's and Niou's, when she heard the first cat whistle. Suzuki balled her hands into fists. Etsuko shifted her grip on her bag.

"You okay?" Etsuko asked.

Suzuki nodded. "I'm fine. I'll see you at practice. Maybe we could aim all the balls at Ito."

Etsuko rolled her eyes – she never understood Suzuki's problem with Ito – but said goodbye nonetheless as Suzuki entered a class room.

Marui nodded at her from across the room – something must have happened, she figured, because Niou looked like he was having a seizure as he made a gesture for her to hurry over. As she walked by the chalk board, which was filled with a list of non-natural elements and their weights, someone grabbed her wrist. She turned her head, narrowing her eyes at the boy who refused to let go.

"I know a janitor's closet, if you're interested," he said, winking.

"Sexist, stupid, _son of a bitch_," she whispered, yanking her arm away. She stepped a little harder than necessary over to her desk, and sat in front of Marui as she rubbed her wrist.

"We could beat him up," Marui said.

"Correction, _you_ could. That guy's dad does business with my dad. I can't touch him," Niou said, giving the boy a look before looking at Suzuki. "Actually, I could get my dad to bankrupt him, if you want."

Suzuki forced a laugh. "I'm fine. I'm kinda used to the jokes now. Is there like, a website of bad sex pickups, or is it just a guy thing? Because these guys keep using the same ones."

Marui shrugged. "Men are pigs who have sex jokes programmed into our DNA. If you heard half the things I thought about, you'd –"

"Don't want to know," Suzuki interrupted. "So what was so important that you had to look like a drunken monkey?" she asked, looking at Niou.

"Marui –" Niou patted Marui on the shoulder " – is officially the biggest playa on the tennis team."

"First, don't say 'playa,'" Marui said. "Second, it does not make me any cooler. It means some creepy, psycho girl feels the need to give me her bra."

"_What?_" Suzuki's jaw literally dropped.

"When I went to change my shoes after you walked off with Etsuko, I found a package in my cubby. It had chocolate, cheap ass gum, a letter, and a bra." Marui groaned, hitting his head against the desk. "Am I a freak magnet?"

Niou shrugged. "I say go out with her. Any girl willing to give you a bra is willing to give you more."

Suzuki gave him a look of disgust. "_Ew_."

Marui rolled his eyes. "Dude, that's going too far. I don't hang out with whores."

"You hang out with Suzuki," Niou said, "and apparently she gives a mad blow job."

"You're asking for some shit to go down," Suzuki said.

"Oh, he's kidding, Akira, calm down," Marui said. "Okay, I made up my mind: I'll figure out the bra later, but I'm sleeping through chem. and copying your notes, Niou."

"No way. Do your own notes, you slack –"

The teacher walked in. "Niou-kun, stop talking."

"Akira, you're helping me decode the meaning of that bra later," Marui said softly.

Suzuki sighed and turned around. She frowned, rubbing at her wrist where the boy had grabbed her.

.

After class, the boys headed straight to practice, making some excuse to walk by the girls' locker room so Suzuki got to practice without problems. Niou and Marui were pretty sure she knew they were trying to keep guys away, but it was also pretty obvious it made her furious. She was proud of being able to take care of herself, of not needing to rely on anyone, and having her best friend and Niou walk her to the locker room was a bullet to her pride.

Niou and Marui ended up being late to practice, but somehow managed to sneak in without getting extra laps. They were pretty sure that Sanada had seen them do a ninja roll, but apparently not.

Sanada, who had been leaning against a tree, shook his head and walked over to the small patch of grass on a hill where Yukimura was stretching.

"Niou and Marui are late," Sanada said.

Yukimura shrugged, bending forward to reach his toes. "Push down on my back."

"I should assign them laps," Sanada said, gently pushing on Yukimura's shoulders to help him stretch. "Everyone else made it to practice on time."

"Besides you," Yukimura pointed out with an amused smile. "You were ten minutes late, Mr. Hypocrite."

"I had to go to the bathroom, Seiichi, and you know the bathrooms in the locker room are filthy and –"

"Ten minutes in the bathroom?" Yukimura sat up, rolling his shoulders and knocking Sanada's hands off. "Personally, I couldn't care less about your bowel movements, or if you got a little horny and needed to let some steam out – I only care if you get here. Same with Niou and Marui, just don't tell them that."

"I still say Niou deserves laps."

Yukimura stood up. "Oh, come on, Genchirou, it was funny."

"He put piss is my locker," Sanada said, obviously not amused. "I had to run the morning laps in piss shoes."

Yukimura could barely talk because he was laughing so hard. "Go – tell the – first years – that – they need to – _you should have seen your face_!" Yukimura sat back down, laughing uncontrollably.

Sanada still didn't see how Niou's little prank was so funny.

.

"First years, balls! Second years, nets! Third years, locker rooms!"

Yukimura grabbed the whistle that was hanging around his neck and blew hard, signaling the end of the day. Sanada and Yanagi went inside to make sure the boys in the locker room behaved, while Yukimura stayed outside in the cold to watch the first and second years.

After the last ball was put into a basket, Yukimura went into the locker room and straight towards his locker. He didn't see Sanada or Yanagi, and assumed they were in his office, waiting for him like they always did after they changed.

"Yo, Buchou," Niou said as Yukimura opened his locker.

Yukimura slipped his jacket off, and then yanked his polo up over his head. He looked at Niou with narrowed, annoyed eyes. "What?"

"I can't come to practice tomorrow," he said.

Yukimura crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Why?"

"Correction: I'm not coming to practice tomorrow."

Yukimura looked like he was going to kill someone. He uncrossed his arms, toeing out of his shoes. "Still doesn't answer my question. And you will not get off easy for being honest."

"Hiroshi has student council meeting or something, and he asked me to show up and talk about the winter dance," Niou said. "I figured that was a pretty damn good excuse."

"We have a winter dance?"

"It was news to me, too."

"Fine, just give me a little more notice next time," Yukimura sighed, yanking down his pants, making sure to leave his boxers up. (He pulled them down with his pants once, and Yukimura would bet his life that Niou still has the photos somewhere.)

Niou nodded, mumbled, "Thanks," and walked out of the locker room with Marui, Jackal and Yagyuu. Yukimura shook his head, heading over to the regular-only showers. He grabbed a white towel out of a cart, and stepped inside the small room. His boxers came flying out of the shower room a minute later.

.

Yukimura walked in his office, the captain's office, dressed in his school uniform. He ran a hand through his wet hair, grabbing his bag off his desk.

"Let's go," he said to Sanada and Yanagi, who were both reading. "Oh, and, Renji, we need to change tomorrow's practice plan. Niou and Yagyuu have student council crap, so we can't have them help the doubles players."

"Niou?" Yanagi asked, closing his book and sliding it into his bag. "He's not involved with student council."

"Yagyuu wants his help with the winter dance," Yukimura said.

"We have a winter dance?" Sanada asked.

Yukimura shrugged. "Apparently."

.

They left the school, taking a train into the center of town. A few girls from their school were on the train, pointing a giggling at them. ("I don't understand. Why are they pointing?" Yanagi asked. Yukimura sighed. "Because we have nice asses.") After pushing their way through the crowds of people to get off the train, they walked through town, heading for a small sports shop that Yukimura's father owned, X-Treme.

"Did you father get the new shipment of grip tape?" Yanagi asked. "My racquet could use new tape…"

"I don't know," Yukimura said. "I could ask."

A few minutes of pointless chatter later (most of which consisted of Yukimura complaining about how cold his hair was) Yukimura was opening up the door to his father's shop. The bells rang and Yukimura's father, who was putting boxes up on a shelf, smiled.

"Seiichi, Genchirou-kun, Renji-kun. How was school?" Yukimura's father, Iwao, asked. Sanada and Yanagi, having spent so much time in the shop with Yukimura, were fairly close to Iwao. They thought of him as an uncle.

"The usual – practice, work, practice," Yukimura said, shrugging. "Boring."

"Well, the break room is empty, if you three want to head on back," Iwao said, putting the last of the boxes on the shelf.

"Did the new shipment of grip tape come in?" Yukimura asked as the three walked over to him.

"Ah." Iwao reached into his pocket, pulling out three small rolls of tape. He tossed one to Sanada, one to Yanagi, and one to Yukimura. "On the house."

"Thank you, Iwao-san," Sanada said, slipping the roll of tape into his pocket.

"Yes, thank you very much," Yanagi said.

"No problem," Iwao said. "You two help out so much in the summer without pay I could probably give you a thousand roles each. Of course, Seiichi gets some just because he's my son."

"Gee, thanks, Dad, way too make me feel special," Yukimura said in a joking way. "We'll be in the break room if you need us."

The three walked to the back of the store, pushing open a door. The break room was for employees, but no one was back there at the moment. It was like their own little game room. There was a pinball machine, a wii hooked up to a TV with a variety of sports game, and a daybed.

They set their bags in the corner of the room. Yukimura collapsed onto the lumpy sofa, Yanagi chose one of the bean bags, and Sanada opened up the small fridge in the corner, grabbing three ponta cans.

"Seiichi," Sanada said.

Yukimura held up his hand, catching the can that hit his hand seconds later. He lied down and opened the top, taking a sip. He had an odd talent for doing things while lying down – drinking, eating, anything really.

"I really wish they made alcoholic ponta," Yukimura said.

"Why?" Sanada asked. "You don't drink."

Yukimura shrugged. "I just think it's a cool idea. It would save kids the trouble of making punch and then spiking it. It's like a pre-spike."

Yanagi sighed. Sanada rolled his eyes.

"Oh," Yukimura said suddenly. "Renji, when you finish that book, could you lend it to me?"

"Which book?" Yanagi asked. "I'm reading four."

"Any. I'm out of stuff to read," he said.

"That's no surprise," Sanada said. "You read more than Renji, Seiichi. You're practically a bookworm."

Yukimura sat up, picking up one of the sofa's back cushions and chucking it at Sanada.

"I'm not a bookworm," he mumbled. He lied back down, staring at the ceiling. "Speaking of practice –"

"We weren't," Sanada said, rubbing his head where the pillow at hit him.

"–I won't be coming to afternoon practice next Friday."

"A doctor's appointment?" Yanagi asked, worried.

Yukimura shook his head. "No. I'm just… going to visit my mom. I haven't been to see her for awhile."

Sanada nodded, and Yanagi didn't say anything.

"No need to be so depressed," Yukimura said, turning his head to look at his closest friends. "Hey, let's play a game. I think I just got that baseball game."

Yanagi frowned. "Seiichi, you know I am terrible at –"

Yukimura sat up, giving Yanagi a look. "Don't you dare play the I'm-terrible-at-video-games card. Genchirou still doesn't know how to put the wrist strap on. Now, come on, both of you, let's play."

* * *

**A/N: Drop me a review and fill my huge ego?**

**Theglasseslover: **I hope the small little bit about the piss shoes was enough of a reaction from Sanada. As for Niou and the company and his girl – it's complicated. To be honest, this story is going to be long. I plan to go from fall of their third year up to the spring, possibly summer. I haven't even hit winter yet (because technically it starts really late in December). Whether I have something planned for Niou, you'll have to wait and see :)


	9. Chapter 9

** Chapter 9.**

During his and Suzuki's walk to school, Marui stuck his hands into his pockets and asked, "Did you study for the English test?"

"That's today?" Marui nodded. She groaned. "Damn it."

"You need a planner or something," Marui said. "You forget more tests than I do tennis practices. Now that's saying something."

She sighed, going cross eyed to look at the white cloud that came out of her mouth as she talked. "I know," she said, uncrossing her eyes. "The cold is killing my memorization brain cells."

Marui laughed, walking just a bit faster before he froze to death. And to think, it wasn't even winter. No wonder Suzuki hated the cold – it was evil.

.

When they got into the school, Marui spotted Yukimura next to his shoe cubby, and Suzuki spotted Ito next to hers. They both groaned.

"Switch?" Suzuki asked.

"I wish I could, but when he wants to talk, I need to talk," he said. He gave her a good luck pat on the back, and walked over to his cubby. The closer he got to Yukimura, the more of his captain's expression he could make out (and it was not an expression reserved for conversations pertaining to unicorns and boobs).

"Good morning, Marui," Yukimura said.

Marui nodded, toeing out of his shoes. "Good morning, Buchou. Do you need something?"

"Stop slacking and start caring," Yukimura said bluntly.

Marui furrowed his brow, confused. "What do you mean? I'm not slacking, and I do care about whatever it is your talking about me not caring about."

"You missed another morning practice."

"Shit. I can explain," he said quickly. "Akira wakes me up, and I forgot to tell her that you changed the morning schedule, and –"

"I don't care," Yukimura snapped. "Stop thinking you're the only one who can come up with some lame ass excuse. And, you know what, even if it is true, it doesn't matter. You shouldn't need to rely on someone else for something. Unless you don't care."

"You know I care about tennis, just like every other guy on the team."

"Then start acting like it." And then Yukimura walked away.

Marui swore, running a hand through his hair.

He changed his shoes quickly and clumsily, nearly falling over twice. He turned and walked over to Suzuki's cubby, where she was currently scolding Ito for something or another. He glanced at her shoes, saw that she had changed them, and then dragged her away.

"See ya later, Toots!" Ito yelled.

"Screw you!" Suzuki yelled over her shoulder. She yanked her arm away from Marui, looking at him. "Okay, what's up with you?"

"Yukimura is watching my ass like he's gay, that's what's up," Marui said. "Damn it! He's gonna work me to death. I just know it."

Suzuki was completely confused, but decided not to ask what was really on her mind, if he blamed her. So, instead, she asked if he did the math homework and if she could copy.

He didn't, he assumed she would have done it.

.

"So Yukimura suddenly got all jerkish on your ass?" Niou asked during lunch after Marui explained his situation. Marui nodded. Niou whistled. "That sucks."

"Yeah," Marui mumbled, stealing a piece of Suzuki's sushi, tossing it into his mouth. She raised an eyebrow, moving her bento away. He frowned and swallowed. "I forgot mine. Please?"

"Fine." She put the bento between them, propping her elbow on his desk, resting her chin in her palm. "Ito wants me to make changes in my girls' practice schedules. These joint practices are getting to his head."

"What is your problem with him?" Marui asked. "He's never seemed like that bad of a guy to me."

Suzuki didn't give a response.

.

Marui cursed softly when the last bell of the day rang. He had twenty minutes to get to practice. Or, as he saw it, he was twenty minutes away from hell.

"Kill me now," Marui said as he carelessly shoved his books into his bag.

"I'd rather be going to practice. I have to go be Hiroshi's bitch at some student council meeting," Niou mumbled, standing up. "Those brats look down their noses at me. It pisses me off."

"They don't know you're the son of a huge business tycoon, and half of them probably think you smoked pot right before coming into the room," Marui said. "I'd look down my nose at you, too."

Suzuki stared at Niou. "Business tycoon? I thought he just owned a small company." Something in her brained clicked. "Your dad owns Niou Software, doesn't he? N-Ware?"

Niou glared at Marui. "Thanks a lot. I hope Yukimura kills you." He looked at Suzuki. "One word about this and those rumors about Yoshida sleeping with you will be the least of problems."

Niou left the room, glaring at anyone who dared say his name. Suzuki looked at Marui, unsure of what to say.

Marui patted her on the shoulder. "He's, um, let's just say his father is a sensitive topic. But it's nothing like that," Marui added hastily, seeing the concern on her face. "His father would never do anything to hurt him, and Niou loves the man to death – he's like his freaking hero. Niou just doesn't like how his life is set out for him. He has some control issues."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Marui let out a sigh of epic proportions. "Come on, let's go."

The two left the room, both listening reasons why their problem was worse. It was basically a who-sucks-more contest between Ito and Yukimura.

Marui saw a couple in the corner and tilted his head. "Isn't that – ? Never mind. Hey, do you want to come to my house for dinner?" Marui asked, trying to act as though he had never started that first sentence.

Suzuki looked around, wondering if Marui had seen something. He had. Suzuki stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring at the couple wedged into the corner. Yoshida and some girl – busty, tall, hour glass figure, his hands on her hips.

"Yoshida." She shook her head. "That girl's an idiot. She's just going to be used, just like I was."

Something inside of her broke. All those rumors, all those guys, all their words suddenly hit her lit a tidal wave, breaking her. Knowing she had been used and admitting it were two totally different things. She wasn't okay with Yoshida being an ass anymore; she wanted to hurt him, to make him pay for mistreating her, for saying all those things about all those girls.

"Akira," Marui put a hand on her shoulder, "you okay?"

"I'll see you later, Bunta," she said, rushing out with her head low, clutching her bag like she would die if she let go.

Marui took a step to go after her, but stopped, remembering what Yukimura had told him that morning. He had tennis practice, and if he missed another, he was sure Yukimura would have his ass no matter what the circumstances were. Marui swore mentally, heading for the locker room.

Suzuki was always stronger than him, that's why he relied on her for so much. She would be fine for an hour.

.

Suzuki was numb to the bone as she sat outside of an old storage shed on a bench without her coat. Normally, she would rather be locked in a room of spiders than sit outside in the cold autumn air, but she didn't care. She had her head hung low as she slow rocked back and forth, hands clutching at the end of her skirt.

"Calm down, Akira," she whispered to herself, nails digging into her knees. She was willing herself not to cry. She would not shed a tear for Yoshida. "You will not take a bat to his head. You will not key obscene phrases into his locker. You will not steal his favorite basketball and pop it."

"You okay?"

Suzuki snapped her head up, teary eyes narrowing. "Go away, Ito," she hissed. "You're the last person I want to see right now."

Ito sat down next to her anyways, not moving when she groaned. "You know, I told you he's an ass. Yoshida, I mean."

Suzuki gave him a fake smile, her frustration growing with each second. "Thanks. That really helps. Rub it in my face that you were right and I was wrong."

"I didn't come here to do that," Ito said, tugging at his scarf.

Suzuki eyed his scarf with jealously as she shivered and said, "Then why did you come? Trying to get some with the school whore? Well, guess what, you're fugly."

"That's not why I came either," Ito said, yanking off his scarf. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay; I saw you run out of the school, then I saw Yoshida and his new girlfriend, and it's cold out. I was worried."

Suzuki wasn't sure whether she wanted to laugh or cry. Considering she was already close to doing one of the two, she went ahead and did the other, laughing dryly. "Yes, Ito Ryuu, the boy who has made it his life mission to make me miserable coming to my rescue. Oh, the irony."

Ito leaned forward a bit and turned, ignoring her protests and sniffled demands for him to stop. "Hold still," he ordered, wrapping the scarf around her neck. She froze when she realized he wasn't trying to strangle her, and allowed him to wrap his scarf around her neck gently. He pulled her hair out from underneath the fuzzy fabric, his fingers tickling the back of her neck.

"That looks better than it does on you than it did on me," he said.

Suzuki adjusted the scarf a bit, slightly confused. "Thanks, I guess."

Ito smiled, turning back so he was facing forward and not staring at Suzuki. "Sorry if I was interrupting your monologue or whatever single-person speeches are called in plays."

"You're not interrupting. It was me trying to convince myself that no matter how much I want to take a bat to Yoshida's head, I can't." Suzuki felt stupid saying it out loud, she felt stupid caring about someone she didn't even know two months ago. Tears blurred her vision. "I can deal with guys telling me to do things, but I – never mind. Guys don't talk about feelings and crap, right?"

"Most guys don't," Ito said. "That doesn't mean we won't listen when we have to. Now tell me what happened."

Suzuki chewed on her lip for a moment, wiping at her eyes and playing with his scarf again.

"I saw Yoshida with another girl, and it hurt. I know he's an ass, but I liked him. Part of me thought that maybe, just maybe he said those things to impress his friends, and would tell them a lie if it went on for long enough. I'm so full of myself, thinking a guy like him would actually care about someone like me."

"Someone like you?" Ito almost laughed. "I've known you for what, our whole lives? You're confident, obnoxious, proud, and strong – there's nothing wrong with that. It makes you you, and you're pretty awesome. Don't you _ever _think you're that you're less than fucking perfect, Akira."

That was the first time in a long time she had heard him use her name instead of Toots, and it made her grin from ear to ear. "Thanks, that means a lot coming from you," she said.

"Besides," he said, smiling, "you'll always be my little Toots."

She laughed, feeling her spirits rise than fall. Marui was right, Ito wasn't really that bad of a guy, and she treated him like he was the villain. Because of her stupid grudge against him, she didn't trust him when he said Yoshida was a jerk, so she was used, and she felt weak.

Suddenly, Ito said, "You can cry, you know. I won't laugh. I've seen you cry before."

"I was five, and you pushed me out of a tree," she said.

"Hey, you knocked out my front teeth with a kickball."

"I had to get stitches, you got money!"

Ito tossed his head back and laughed, and she could help but smile.

When his laughter died down, Ito sighed. "What happened to us, Akira?"

She ran a hand through her hair, pressing her lips together as she looked at him. "Please leave."

"I didn't mean to –" Ito frowned. "I said I wouldn't laugh."

"I know, but I'm not going to cry," she said. "I'm not stupid enough to let a man-whore like Yoshida get the best of me, that's your job. I'll be fine, Ito, really."

Ito knew she was hurt, but he stood up anyways, nodding with his lips pressed together. As he slipped his hands into his pockets to go, he heard Suzuki say, "You're still an ass," but missed the smile as she said it.

Ito waved over his shoulder as he began to walk away, yelling "See ya later," over his shoulder with a smile of his own as he added, "_Toots!_"

.

"Practice is over! First years, pick up the balls! Second years, the nets! Third years, locker rooms!" Yukimura called, blowing his whistle to dismiss them for the day.

Marui rushed into the locker room with the other third years. He changed quickly, stripping the second he got into the locker room. Marui wouldn't have known he hit Jackal in the knee when he opened his locker if it wasn't for his partner's loud curse.

"Bunta, slow down," Jackal said, rubbing his knee. "Are you racing Akaya or somethin'?"

Marui apologized, or maybe he didn't. He didn't really think about it. He was worried about Suzuki, about what she was going to do. This was the bomb exploding, and he knew it was bad. If she ran into Yoshida, something bad was going to happen.

"See ya later," Marui said, grabbing his coat and bag, rushing out of the locker room before the second years could finish with the nets.

He stopped by the baseball/softball fields first, but didn't see heads or tail of Suzuki. He took another look at who was at the joint practice, realizing Ito wasn't there either. Bando and Etsuko looked lost, unsure of how to run the teams without their captains, let alone a joint baseball-softball practice.

He set off in another direction, wondering if maybe she went to the library to read a book on self restraint. He was on his way to the library when he spotted her sitting on a bench. He headed towards her, taking off his coat as he walked.

"Akira," he said, putting the coat around her shoulders, "you're more of a hassle than Niou when he's drunk. Here, you're shivering."

Suzuki grabbed the jacket, pulling it tightly around herself. "I hate being cold. My nose gets all runny and my hands get all numb because they're the only part of me that is getting frostbite. Stupid body trying to preserve my organs. I'd rather die with warm hands than die with no hands."

"Akira, don't worry about it, you're only human, and humans get cold," Marui said. He spotted Ito's scarf around her neck. "Where'd you get that scarf? You don't wear scarves."

Suzuki could feel her cheeks burn. "If I tell you, you'll disown me."

"Uh-huh…" Marui paused. "Come on, I'll buy you a fruit salad at Sweet Treats if you smile."

She was quiet for a moment, and then said, "And a peach smoothie?"

Marui sighed. "Yes. And a peach smoothie."

"Fine, but it's a fruit bowl."

* * *

**A/N:** **Smile, you're worth it :)**

**theglasseslover**: Yes, I know this story has been a bit Marui-centric. As the story goes on, I focus more on different characters – Niou, Yagyuu, Yukimura, Kirihara… They all get their face time eventually. And when I hit spring I'm going to do the tournaments, which means a lot of tennis team time (alliteration FTW).


	10. Chapter 10

** Chapter 10.**

Suzuki was waiting in Marui's kitchen when he came downstairs, running a hand through his bed hair. She was sitting at his table, resting her head in her folded arms. It was obvious she hadn't slept; the events from yesterday must have been fresh in her mind.

Marui walked over until he was behind her and pulled on Ito's scarf, which was wrapped tightly around her neck. Suzuki snapped her head up, looking left and right before tilting her head back.

"Morning," Marui said.

"Morning," she mumbled back, resting her head in her arms again.

Marui sat down across from her, pulling an orange out of the fruit basket. "Bad night?"

She nodded without lifting her head, which looked oddly painful from Marui's point of view. "I don't want to go to school."

"Is it Ito?"

"No."

"That's a first." Marui cursed, unable to peel his orange. "Then why don't you want to go?"

She sighed, lifting her head. "Because if I see Yoshida, I'm going to punch that ass and get another week of detention. I did not do well in detention, Bunta. I felt like I was a penguin in a cage full of delinquent lions."

"Ouch. Nothing's worse than delinquent lions." He dug his thumb into the orange, frowning when it still refused to peel. "And don't worry about Yoshida. A lot of people have forgotten already."

"I don't care what other people think. I care what I think. I feel like I screwed up and I'll never forget it. I mean, I'm a girl, I won't forget how he made me feel – the good and the bad."

"Oh, yeah, that's right, girls don't forget. Girls keep a hit list under their pillows and think of ways to attack at night. Then they pretend to be nice and – _bam_! You're dead. You girls are vicious creatures."

She smiled. Marui gave up and put the orange back in the basket.

.

The two stopped off at the Corner Market because Marui refused to go to school without something to eat, and Suzuki said that if she ate McDonalds one more time she would turn into a glob of grease.

When they got to school, they went to their cubbies, wanting to quickly change their shoes and get the day over with.

Niou was standing next to Marui's locker, nodding along to a song that was on repeat in his head.

"Hey," Marui said, grabbing his shoes out of his cubby. "Ready for afternoon practice? No Yukimura. Hallelujah."

"School hasn't even technically started and you're already thinking about afternoon practice. You're on something, and I want some," Niou said. "But, seriously, dude, why so hyped for afternoon practice?"

"_No Yukimura_. Do I need any other reason?" Marui rolled his shoulders and put his street shoes up in his cubby. "Come on, let's get to class, sleep, and enjoy an afternoon of Yukimura-free practice."

"Sanada's in charge, you know," Niou reminded him, "and that's not fun. He's still pissed about me putting piss in his locker. He'll have me running laps all practice."

Marui shrugged. "No Yukimura. I'm a happy camper."

.

The day seemed never ending for Yukimura. He tapped his fingers on his desk, casually talking to the kids around him, watching the clock and wishing that Sanada and Yanagi were in his class. It was days like this when he needed his friends the most, days when he was going to visit his mom.

When the last bell of the day rang, Yukimura gathered his things and said a few goodbyes to some of the people around him before hurrying out of the room and down to his cubby. He changed his shoes and left the school without a second thought, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with dozens of other students.

He pulled his phone out of his bag, scrolling through his contacts until he found his younger sister, Emiko. He hit a button and pressed his phone to his ear. A few rings later, he heard a tired and wry sigh and the question: "What is it now, Seiichi?"

"What's with that sigh? Bad day?" Yukimura asked.

"No. It's just that school literally let out like, two minutes ago and you're already calling me. I'm in junior high, I'm a big girl," Emiko said.

"You're thirteen," Yukimura reminded her, "and you'll always be my baby sister."

She sighed again. "What do you want?"

"I'm skipping practice and going into town, do you need anything?"

"Not really. I'm going to help Dad out at the shop for a bit. Does he know you're skipping practice again?"

"I already talked to him. He knows where I'm going. Who's babying who now?" She laughed. Yukimura smiled. "I'm bringing dinner home. Take-out okay?"

"Lots and lots of those spicy green beans?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Great. Love you," she said.

"Ditto."

Yukimura hung up, slipping his phone into his bag. He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets and he joined a dozen or so Rikkaidai students on the walk to the trains.

.

After a twenty minute train ride, Yukimura was slowly walking down a street towards Silly Lilies, one hand in his pocket, the other scrolling through his text messages. He told Yanagi to update him on practice, and Yukimura always found it amusing when someone snatched his friend's phone and sent odd messages to him.

While reading a message from 'Yanagi' about some first years getting caught making out behind the bleachers, he received another about how Sanada was secretly in love with him. Yukimura laughed out loud, not carrying who saw him laughing at his phone. Niou was the funniest 'Yanagi' on the team.

It seemed that the trip to the store took longer than that school day had, but he got there (eventually). He slipped his phone into his pocket and opened the door to the flower shop, Silly Lilies. When he walked inside, he felt like he was being suffocated the dozens of flamboyant flower arrangements that filled the store – it was like a being in a freaking perfume bottle.

He walked up to the counter, but didn't see anyone. He furrowed his brow and tapped the little bell thing. "Is anyone here?"

He heard the bells on the front door clink together and a soft swear. He looked over his shoulder and saw a girl in a Rikkaidai uniform rushing towards the counter.

"Sorry, just give me a second," she said, walking behind the counter. She set her bag on the floor, and grabbed a black apron with the store logo on it off a rack on the wall. Yukimura pressed his lips together and watched her struggle to tie a bow in the back. She swore so softly Yukimura wasn't sure if she said "bumble-bee" or "fuck me."

"You don't look like the kind of girl to swear," Yukimura commented, smirking when her ears turned pink. She_ had_ said the later of the two.

"Sorry," she said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She put on a huge smile and said, "Welcome to Silly Lilies. I'm Koga, can I help you?"

"I need a dozen pink tulips."

Koga smiled and walked around the counter again, heading over towards a tub of unasserted flowers. She picked up tulip after tulip, cradling them in her arms like she would a baby.

"Is that all?" she asked, glancing at Yukimura.

Yukimura nodded. Koga walked back around the counter and set the tulips on a small wooden table.

"I stop by here pretty often for flowers, but I've never seen you here before, or at school for that matter," Yukimura said casually. She looked confused. "Your uniform."

"_Oh_. Well, I just started working here last month," she said, picking up the tulips again and wrapping the bouquet in white plastic. "As for school… hmm… what year are you?"

"Third."

"Second."

Koga set the flowers down again, and walked over to another table. She grabbed a roll of black ribbon and a pair of scissors, cutting off a good sized piece of ribbon.

"I forgot to ask," she said, holding the ribbon in her hand. "Is black okay?"

"That's fine," he said, smiling politely.

Koga nodded and walked back over to the flowers, gently wrapping the ribbon around the bouquet to keep the flowers in place. She turned and set the flowers on the counter next to the cash register. Yukimura reached into his bag for his wallet as she hit some buttons on the cash register. He knew the total – he got the same bouquet every time he came to the store.

"Three thousand yen," she said.

Yukimura grinned inwardly. Yanagi would be proud. He found his wallet with a "eureka!" and pulled out a few bills. She handed him a receipt and his bouquet, smiling; her expression was softer, her eyes warmer. Yukimura felt like he was in one of those cheesy romance novels.

"What's your name again?" he asked, putting his wallet and receipt into his back pocket.

Her ears turned pink. "Why?"

"In case I see you at school."

"Koga."

Yukimura said, "Good-bye, Koga-chan," and then left Silly Lilies, whistling a lullaby his mother used to sing to him about angels.

.

There was a voice in the back of his mind, replying over and over what he wanted to tell his mom. Whenever he went to go see her that voice echoed in his head. But, when it came right down to it, Yukimura could never remember what he had wanted to say.

Five minutes later, he was pushing a gate open. He walked along a concrete path silently, jogging up a set of stairs. When he got to the top he took a deep breath. The trees were dead, puffs of white came out of his mouth as he breathed, and the clouds were covering the sky – an ironic setting, or something of the sort, he thought.

He walked through the maze-like paths he knew like the back of his hand, walking by grieving families and young children, wondering why life had to be so cruel as to take people away. Suddenly, he stopped walking, and stared down at the ground.

There was a small tombstone with his mother's name and a few fresh, white lilies someone must have dropped off. He knelt down and smiled, setting in flowers down in front of his mother's grave next to the lilies.

He talked to the tombstone as though he was talking to his mother. He wasn't necessarily religious, but his mother believed in angels, so Yukimura believed for her. He talked about school, about Emiko and his father, about the tennis team, about Sanada and Yanagi – anything and everything and the nothing in-between.

"I miss you."

Six years had passed since his mother's death, and it still hurt like it was just yesterday. So much for time heals all wounds.

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I've wanted to post it for like, forever, but I've been one of the many with updating problems.****  
**

**theglasseslover:** Well, the tennis matches won't be for awhile, but I'll get to them. I can't promise they'll be amazing, seeing as how I've never written one before, but I'll worry about that when I get there.


	11. Chapter 11

** Chapter 11.**

Yukimura groaned loudly when his alarm woke him up. He rolled onto his side and hit a random button. He glanced at it, saw he hit snooze, and decided to go back to sleep for another ten minutes. Despite being a supporter of morning practices, Yukimura was by no means a morning person. Yukimura in the morning was like Sanada having a girl confess to him. (AKA: not a pretty sight.)

After ten minutes of swimming with the yellow dolphins in his dream, he sat up and ran a hand through his tangled hair. He walked around his small room, picking up the bits and pieces of uniforms, checking for clothes that were semi-clean. He had forgotten to give Emiko his laundry the night before, which meant reusing a uniform. Again.

He changed quickly and walked out of his bedroom and through the small apartment he called home. His dad was in front of the stove grilling fish for their lunches, and Emiko was at the table shoveling Lucky Charms into her mouth.

"Practice this morning?" their dad asked.

Yukimura yawned and sat down at the table across from Emiko, grabbing a bowl from the center of the table and the box of Lucky Charms. "Yeah, but it's the last one for awhile. Oh, speaking of tennis, can I go over to Marui's house this Saturday? It's a 'team night' thing."

"Sure," he said. "Emiko, you and I can get pizza and talk about how much we hate Seiichi."

Emiko smiled. "_Awesome_."

"Ha, ha, ha," Yukimura said, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the milk his sister hadn't put back in the fridge, and poured it over his cereal. "You know that when you're at swim practice and you tell me to watch your phone, I read all your texts."

Emiko nearly choked on her cereal. "Dad!"

"Seiichi."

"Oh, I was kidding," Yukimura said, gently kicking his sister under the table. "I only look at the pictures."

.

After a quick train ride towards town, Yukimura headed off for school, walking at a brisk pace so he didn't freeze to death. It was what, he wondered, late November? Too early to be this cold, he decided.

When he got to school, he glanced at the clock tower in the back, saw he still had ten minutes, and set off for the locker room at a jog, hoping to get a few papers done before the early comers began to filter in.

Yukimura came to the locker room and discovered that it was open, like always. He walked towards the door in the back, his office, and found that it was open, like always. Sanada was in his office, as was Yanagi, like always.

His life had become a routine, not that he cared. He liked order. He liked things to be precise and similar. Change meant having to adjust every aspect of his life, and he wasn't ready for that. He spent all of junior high adjusting, and he wanted his high school years to be as normal as they could be.

"Good morning," Yukimura greeted, setting his bag on the sofa and sitting behind his small wooden desk. His hands began to shuffle the papers, his eyes darting from bolded word to bolded word, trying to decide which was the most important. "Renji," he said, holding a pink paper, "did we apply for that new net to replace the one that squirrel killed?"

"The squirrel didn't kill it," Sanada stated. "Akaya did when he saw the squirrel."

"It's the squirrel's fault for chasing him," Yukimura said, smiling at the memory of Kirihara running from the squirrel. He sighed, getting his mind back in the business-frame. "Renji, did we?"

"I requested it, but it was turned down. Apparently we're over budget."

"Already?" Yukimura groaned, folding his arms and resting his head on them. "That doesn't usually happen until the spring."

"I'll move some numbers and see what I can do," Yanagi reassured. "There's a good chance that I could get enough money if I pull out of our reserves."

"But those are for when we go over budget in the spring. Damn it," Yukimura swore.

.

Yukimura was sitting on the hill next to Sanada, his jacket sleeves shoved down past his hands in some desperate attempt to keep his fingers warm. He shivered.

"Are you okay?" Sanada asked.

Yukimura nodded, rubbing his sleeves against his face. "I think I'm going to cancel practices until it warms up."

"That's alright with me. To be honest, that's the only thing I like about winter."

"You did not just imply that you hate morning practice, Mr. Morning-Practice-King."

"Just in the winter, Seiichi."

"Whatever you say."

Sanada grinned, rolling his eyes.

Yukimura wondered why people thought Sanada was a rock. So what if he didn't show emotion around people he didn't know? That didn't make him a bad person, it made him, well, _him_. Yukimura knew a lot of people who did that – Yanagi, Niou, that Koga girl from the flower shop.

Yukimura smiled.

"Do I have toothpaste on my mouth?" Sanada ran his thumb over the corners of his mouth. He frowned, and then looked back at Yukimura, who was still smiling. "Seiichi?"

"Um? Oh. Hey. What'd you say?"

"Nothing…" Sanada sighed. "Who is she?"

Yukimura frowned. "I'm offended. I smile and it's automatically a girl?"

"It's always a girl with you."

Yukimura leaned back on his hands. He gave a small shrug, turning his head to look at Sanada. "You know how I went to see my mom the other day?"

"Yes…"

"And you know I go to that flower shop to get tulips?"

"Yes…"

"And you know how there's been that 'help wanted' sign up for months?"

"Get to the point before I order the first years to aim serves at you."

Yukimura back-handed Sanada's arm, which made the captain lose balance. His back hit the grass and he frowned – the grass was too freakin' cold. Yukimura shivered, but didn't sit up.

"They hired someone," Yukimura said. "She's a second year here. She's cute."

"Cute being get-in-her-pants cute, or I-love-her-with-all-my-heart cute?" Sanada asked. Yukimura gave him a look. Sanada smiled. "Come on, Seiichi, you haven't liked a girl all year – I'm allowed to ask questions. You usually would have had at least three different girlfriends by now."

"Oh, shut up!" Yukimura sat up and hit him again. "And it's she-swears-under-her-breath-so-no-one-will-hear-and-her-ears-turn-pink-when-she-blushes cute."

"You're a hopeless romantic, Seiichi."

Yukimura snorted. "So are you."

"Yo, Buchou, Fukubuchou."

Yukimura and Sanada turned around, both sending daggers at Niou.

"What is it, Niou? Come to put gum in my hair again?" Yukimura asked, making a mental note to check his hair in the locker rooms. He had to have Sanada use peanut butter to get it out the last time.

Niou made an offended noise, sitting down next to Yukimura. "I would never do that!"

"Bullshit," Yukimura spat. "Now give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't give you laps until your ass is chaffing."

"Just coming to hear about your sex life," Niou said with a grin. "So, you and this girl, huh?"

Yukimura narrowed his eyes. "Run. _Now._"

"Sorry, Buchou, but no can do. Yanagi ended practice a minute ago. Maybe next time."

Niou stood up, singing "Buchou's got a girlfriend!" at the top of his lungs until he got into the locker room.

.

Niou dragged Marui out of the locker room the second they were both done changing. Niou liked to think that he wasn't afraid of Yukimura, but decided that day that if looks could kill, Yukimura would be on the world's most wanted list.

"So, want in on a little project of mine?" Niou asked with his trademark smirk as they walked towards the main building. "I call it Operation Get Yukimura Laid."

"I'm not getting involved in anything that deals with Yukimura. He's out to get me. He practically forced me to have team night at my house. He trapped me in a corner and used chains and fire! It was torture!"

"He asked you in the locker room while wearing a fluffy, pink towel."

Marui hesitated. "He's still out to get me."

"He's out to get the world, Marui – the world does not revolve around you; it revolves around me. Random question: you gonna go to the winter dance?"

"When is it? I've seen the posters in the halls, but I can't be bothered to look."

"Like, three weeks."

Marui shrugged. "Don't know. I might hang out with Akira or Jackal."

"What am I, you're don't-hang-out-with guy?"

"Was that the best you could come up with?" Marui asked with a grin. "I think you're losing your touch, Niou."

"It's been a loooong week," Niou moaned. "My sister's back from university for winter break and plays the piano twenty-four-freakin'-seven. I got up at eight in the morning on Sunday. It's practically blasphemy, whatever the hell that is."

"At least she's good. I remember when Haruto tried to pick up the guitar last year to impress some girl." Marui cringed at the memory. Hours and hours of torture. Marui thought his ears were going to fall off.

The two turned around a corner and saw Suzuki walking with Etsuko into the building. Marui jogged towards them, grabbing Suzuki's shoulder. Her whole body tensed.

"Don't touch me –!" Suzuki turned around, realized it was Marui, and relaxed. "Bunta, don't do that. I slapped the last person who did."

"The last person you hit got you suspended, remember? You can't go around slapping people."

"Don't worry." Suzuki grinned. "It was only Ito."

Etsuko rolled her eyes. "He didn't even touch her. She just slapped him when he started playing with her scarf."

Marui laughed. Suzuki turned red; Ito had asked, "Like my scarf, huh, Toots?" Not that she would ever tell anybody that he had said that, or admit that, yes, she liked his scarf.

Niou finally caught up to the trio (having walked there like a slug). "Hey, I haven't heard anyone talkin' about your ass lately," he said, looking at Suzuki. "I mean, it's practically non-existent, but still, people seemed pretty damned interested in it last week."

Suzuki shrugged, readjusting Ito's scarf around her neck. She had a feeling that he did something other than give her that scarf that day because Niou was right, the rumors had calmed down. There were still jerks out there, but the worst of them had disappeared.

"I dunno, maybe there's a new hot topic?" she suggested. "_Anyways._ Change of subject. Bunta, my mom wants to know if you want to come over tonight for dinner. She said your family could come too."

"I'll see you guys later," Niou said before Marui could answer, heading into the school.

Niou walked over to his cubby and spotted a purple envelope with his name on it. He slipped it into his bag, and quickly changed his shoes. After slipping his street shoes back into his cubby, he headed up the stairs, towards the student council room.

He went to open the door, but it was locked. He sighed, looking right and left. No one was around.

He reached into the side bag of his pocket and pulled out a key ring with over thirty keys on it. He smiled to himself, thumbing through the keys. When he was a first year, he stole a key ring from one of the janitors, made copies, and then put it back. He had a key to every door in the school. It was handy when he needed to bug Yagyuu when he hid out in the student council room.

He found the key with a "ah-ha!" and unlocked the door. He walked inside, closing the door behind him.

"Hiroshi," he said, walking over to the desk in the corner. Yagyuu's glasses were sitting on a textbook, and his arms were folded and were currently acting as a pillow. Niou poked his shoulder. "Wake up. Time for school, Mr. President."

Yagyuu sat up, grabbing his glasses. "Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiro –"

"What is it, Niou-kun?" Yagyuu asked, slightly annoyed.

Niou smirked. "You know, by the end of the school year, you're gonna shit yourself whenever you see me. You need to chill… and not fall asleep in this shit hole."

"You would think the heir to a multi-billion yen company would learn to watch his mouth," Yagyuu said. "I am just waiting for the day you yell some profanity in the middle of a business meeting."

"You weren't at morning practice," Niou said, ignoring Yagyuu's statement and sitting on the edge of Yagyuu's desk. He grabbed a paper, looked at it, and then set it back down.

"I spent the night," Yagyuu mumbled. He grabbed the paper Niou had just been holding, looked it over, rolled it into a ball, and tossed it into the trash.

"Why'd you spend the night? You're parents fighting again?"

Yagyuu narrowed his eyes. "Niou-kun, what do you want?"

Niou pulled the purple envelope he had found in his cubby out of his bag and set it in front of Yagyuu. "Dress up as me and turn her down, will ya? I can't stand it when girls cry."

"Did you even read it?"

"No."

Yagyuu slipped the envelope back into Niou's bag. "Be a man, tell her you don't like her, and then say something about how you won't be in insufferable ass to her in the future."

Niou frowned. "You make it sound so easy."

"Life is easy, we make it hard."

Niou jumped off the desk, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Life is hard, we make it harder."

"Get to class, Niou-kun," Yagyuu said with a sigh. "The teachers allow for me to be a few minutes late."

"Mr. Student Council President using his ranking to skip classes, I'm appalled," Niou said sarcastically, heading over to the door.

"Of course you are."

"Oh, Hiroshi, one more thing." Niou grabbed the door knob, but looked over his shoulder. His usually happy-go-lucky face was replaced with something more serious, something full of concern and sadness. "If your parents _are_ fighting again, just know that you and your sister are always welcome at my place no matter what time of the day, no questions asked."

"Thank you." Yagyuu smiled. "Now get to class."

Niou was already out the door.

.

Niou walked into class with a few minutes to spare, and sat down next to Marui with a heavy sigh. Marui looked up from his game of hang-man with Suzuki, frowning.

"What's up? Ten minutes ago you were working on a plan to get Yukimura laid," Marui said, drawing another leg when Suzuki guessed 'G.'

"Nothing I can't handle." Niou shrugged. He glanced at their game and guessed, "Fruit salad?"

"It's a fruit bowl!" Suzuki shouted.

"Salad, Akira, _salad_."

"Niou, is it a fruit bowl or salad?"

"Both exist," Niou said.

Marui and Suzuki looked at each other, and then began to fight about whether or not it was a fruit bowl or salad. Niou wondered why the hell he was friends with the weirdest people in the world. Then he remembered why.

He was one of those weird people.

* * *

**A/N: No, I will never stop the fruit bowl/salad debate. **

**theglasseslover:** Well, Yukimura is an interesting character to write in this story. He has the most change within the story, if you ask me. And thanks for the vote of confidence on the tennis matches! I love hearing that people like my writing because I'm kinda an egotistical ass (but a nice one).


	12. Chapter 12

** Chapter 12.**

Marui heard someone banging on his door. He groaned, pulling a pillow over his head, as though doing so would make the banging softer. It didn't. If anything, he heard more banging, probably from four fists.

"Go away!" Marui shouted.

The banging stopped. Then he heard:

"Bunta –"

"Some is going to die," Marui mumbled, sitting up.

" – just open the door!"

Marui got of his bed, his legs almost giving out. He crossed his bedroom, opening up his door. He narrowed his eyes at Haruto and Hikaru, looking up at them. Marui wanted to kill them, most preferably with acid or a very, very heavy rock. Or both.

"It's nine in the morning," Marui said slowly, as if they didn't realize the time. "You get one second before I go all sleepy demon on your asses and kill you."

"What do you want for Christmas?" Haruto asked.

"Christmas is in like, a month," Marui said. "Can't you be normal teenage boys and BS a gift at the last second?"

"Okay, first of all, it's in three weeks," Hikaru said. "And second, Dad is taking us over to our mom's house and we're shopping with her."

"Oh."

Sometimes Marui forgot that Haruto and Hikaru were his step-brothers. Their father divorced their mom when they were four. A year later, their father met Marui's mom, and a year after that, they were married. Marui had been ten at the time of the marriage, and had liked the idea of having younger twin brothers. That was when Haruto and Hikaru were six years old and innocent. Then they grew up.

Marui sighed. "Tennis crap," he said. "What do you two want?"

"Soccer crap."

From downstairs, Marui heard his mom call for Haruto and Hikaru. The two mumbled good-byes, rushing downstairs. Marui closed the door, crawling back into bed.

Haruto and Hikaru said their parents' divorce was the worst part of their childhood, that they can still remember the nights they spent yelling at each other, despite only being four at the time. Marui never knew his father. Marui would never understand what they went through.

"Well, this is depressing," he mumbled to himself.

He turned on his side, closing his eyes. His mind filled with thoughts of tennis and bubble gum.

.

Marui crawled out of bed a few hours later, falling down more than once while he changed into semi-suitable cloths. There was a note on the fridge from his step-dad and mom telling him that they took Haruto and Hikaru to their mom, which he already knew, and that afterwards they (his mom and step-dad) were going to visit their sick aunt. He rolled the note into a ball, tossing it into the trash.

Then he went through his no-school-or-practice Saturday morning ritual: get a bowl out of the cabinet, take the cereal that Haruto and Hikaru say he can't eat, grab the milk, and a spoon. After getting the necessary items, he sat down at the table, pouring the cereal into the bowl.

His phone rang, and he fished it out of his back pocket after a wiggling around in the chair for a moment. "Hello?"

"It's Yukimura. I'm just reminding you that we'll be over at six."

Marui took a deep breath. Oh, this was just lovely. A call from Yukimura before noon.

"I know," Marui said. "My parents left pizza money, and Haruto and Hikaru left, which is a nice surprise."

"Perfect. I'll see you at six."

Yukimura hung up. Marui pulled his phone away from his ear, staring at it. He mumbled a few choice swear words under his breath, setting his phone on the table. He kept mumbling about Yukimura as he reached for the milk, pouring it over his cereal. He stuck his spoon into the bowl, mixing the dry cereal into the milk.

He took a bite, and then gagged.

"What the –?" He looked at the milk, spitting the cereal back into the bowl. It had expired a week ago. He grabbed his bowl and the milk. He set the bowl in the sink, and dumped the milk spoiled down the sink.

Today was just not his day.

.

Marui had been lazily reading through his facebook notifications when the doorbell rang. He glanced at the bottom of his computer screen – 4:32pm. He stood up, heading out of his room. He rushed downstairs, yelling, "Coming!" though he knew whoever was at the door wouldn't hear him.

When he opened up the door, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see Jackal.

"First one?" Jackal asked, joking.

"You're a genius, Jackal." Marui grinned in a you're-an-idiot way, moving aside for Jackal to come in. Marui closed the door while Jackal began to make his way through Marui's house towards the living room. Jackal set his stuff behind the sofa, and then jumped over it; he let out a sigh when he found a comfortable spot on the sofa.

"Brawl or Kart?" Marui asked, heading over to the wii in front of the TV. He looked over his shoulder at Jackal.

"Brawl."

"Of course, the fighting game."

"I could have said boxing."

"Oh, shut up." Marui rolled his eyes, slipping a disc into the gaming system. "The last time we played boxing on this thing, I got so fed up that I tossed the remote at Hikaru, remember?"

Jackal laughed. Marui chucked a wii remote and nunchuk at Jackal, and then sat on the sofa next to him.

Even though Marui called Suzuki his best friend, she was tied with Jackal. Jackal was the kind of friend who Marui could not talk to for the longest time, and then talk to like they had just seen each other an hour ago. There was something about Jackal that Marui understood, and there was something about Marui that Jackal understood.

Within minutes they were laughing and screaming, pushing each other in order to get in a better attack. They struck stupid poses whenever they knocked the other off screen when they weren't mumbling death threats. At one point, Marui screamed, "Outta the fucking way, it's mine!" when a smash ball appeared.

.

A car pulled into the driveway a little after five. Marui paused the game, rushing to the door. When he opened it up, Niou was pulling a duffle bag out of the back of a car. A freakin' car. But not just any car. A brand new, shiny, black car – expensive looking, too.

"What's with the car?" Marui asked when Niou slammed the trunk shut.

"Birthday gift from my dad," Niou said, shrugging as though a car wasn't a big deal. The words "rich" and "bastard" snuck into Marui's head. Niou pressed a button on his keys, locking the car with a beep. "Damn, I love that sound."

Marui just stared. "When was your birthday?"

"Yesterday."

"Happy day-late birthday?"

"Gee, thanks."

From inside, Jackal yelled, "Bunta, I unpaused the game and you fell off the edge! _Totally an accident_!"

Marui grabbed Niou by the front of the shirt, yanked him inside, and then slammed the door shut. "You _dick_!" Marui shouted, sprinting into the living room, jumping over the sofa. "I was winning!"

Niou shook his head, dropping his bags next to Jackal's, searching for a wii remote and nunchuk.

.

When Yagyuu arrived, Niou pounced on him, demanding that the Gentleman join his team to take out Marui and Jackal – "They're kicking my ass, Hiroshi. My ass is too fine to kick." Yagyuu knocked Niou off of him, and sat in the chair in the corner, watching the three play.

Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi arrived together, Yukimura quickly joining into the game. Sanada, being the technologically-retarded one of the group opted out, sitting in the corner, talking to Yanagi about the new swords at the dojo.

At six thirty, Marui paused the game and asked, "Does anyone know if Akaya is coming?"

Niou shrugged, reaching over to grab Marui's remote. He unpaused the game, chucked Marui's remote at him, and then proceeded to blow Yukimura off the edge. "Suck it."

"Very mature, Niou." Yukimura rolled his eyes, as though he didn't care, but his knuckles were white from gripping the controllers so hard. He glanced at Marui. "And I just assumed he was coming. Didn't he text you?"

"We don't talk much anymore," Marui said.

Niou paused the game. "He doesn't talk to me either, now that I think about it."

"Does he talk to anybody?" Yukimura asked. Everybody thought for a moment, and then shook their heads. "I'm going to call him. Renji, play for me."

Yanagi jumped when Yukimura tossed his remotes at him. "Seiichi, I –"

"Don't care if you suck at video games. Just play."

Just as Yukimura stood up, the door bell rang. Yukimura said that he would get it, and headed for the door. Kirihara was standing outside, panting for air.

"Sorry. I missed my bus and had to jog. Then this dog jumped out of nowhere and I had to sprint. Oh, and Buchou, would you mind moving over a bit? I feel like I'm gonna faint."

Yukimura smiled, shaking his head. It was such a Kirihara-like entrance – insane and totally believable.

.

Within an hour they were bored out of their minds. Niou rolled off the sofa and onto the floor, groaning. "Marui, this sucks. Why couldn't you have rented a movie?"

"It didn't cross my mind, sue me," Marui muttered.

"There has to be something to do," Kirihara said. "Can we get pizza or somethin'? I'm hungry."

"We could go to Sweet Treats," Yukimura suggested. "Is that your dad's car in the driveway, Marui?"

"It's mine," Niou said happily. He jumped to his feet, reaching into his pocket for the keys. "Everyone, pile into the Niou Mobile."

"There's no way we're all going to fit into that thing," Sanada pointed out.

"That's what she said," Kirihara mumbled.

Niou laughed.

"Niou!" Sanada shouted.

Niou stopped laughing, glancing at Sanada. "Don't let your panties bunch up, Sanada. We'll shove everyone in – Akaya, do not say it."

Kirihara rolled his eyes. "I'm not that immature."

"Yeah, you are. Now, to the Niou Mobile!"

"You sound like a dick," Marui said, getting off the sofa. Niou pushed Marui to the ground.

.

Marui was forced to sit on Jackal's lap, Yanagi on Yagyuu's, and Yukimura on Sanada's, which led to several awkward, sexual jokes from Kirihara and Niou. Niou blared old rock music, which led to a vicious argument over what kind of music was better. Then there was the argument about the heat. And the argument about who was paying.

Niou mumbled "finally" under his breath when he pulled into a parking spot in front of Sweet Treats. He got out of the car as fast as possible, watching with an amused smile as everyone tumbled out.

"This is not funny, Niou Masaharu," Yukimura said, fixing his clothes. "I never want to be that close to any of you ever again."

"Agreed," Sanada said. "And, considering you have the most money, Niou, you should pay."

Niou stuck his hands into his pockets. "You guys suck, you know that?"

They grinned. Payback's a bitch.

.

They were joking and laughing in the corner booth, ignoring the looks from everyone else in the restaurant. They were having fun, and they didn't care if anyone else thought Yukimura and Kirihara serenading Sanada was funny or not, because it was hilarious to them.

"Stop it," Sanada muttered, sinking down into the booth. He hated being the center of attention.

The two finally stopped singing, grinning at Sanada's red face. Yukimura kicked Sanada gently under the table. "Come on, Genchirou, no one cares."

"I still don't like it when other guys sing to me. Excuse me for having limits, Seiichi."

Yukimura rolled his eyes. "Big baby."

"So," Niou said, changing the subject, "who says we stop by Seigaku and play a little prank? I know a twenty-four hour store that sells spray paint. A few obscene words could scare those morons off."

"We're not scaring anyone off," Yukimura informed him. "Seigaku is old news. The Golden Pair is no more, Echizen is in America until next year, and the replacements for Kawamura, Echizen, and Oishi are terrible. They didn't even make it past the first round in Nationals last year, remember?"

"Seiichi, be careful," Yanagi warned. "Do you remember the last time you underestimated them?"

"I'm not underestimating them. I'm simply stating the facts. The only teams were need to worry about are Hyotei, Fudomine, and Shitenhoji."

Jackal nodded. "And they're not all that scary. Those Hyotei brats are afraid of frogs, the Fudomine kids live in the slums, and Shitenhoji can be distracted by gay porn."

Marui laughed, swooshing the hair out of his face like an overrated pop idol. "_Exactly!_ No big deal."

Niou rolled his eyes. "You're all idiots. Judging people only gets you stuck in shit."

Yukimura sighed, resting his chin in his palm. "Niou, we're not judging them. We're joking. We know that Hyotei won't really run away like a bunch of girls just because a frog happens to get lose in their locker room."

"And we know Fudomine isn't in the slums. It's in the same economic area as Seigaku," Marui said.

"And, as far as we know, only two of Shitenhoji's regulars are gay," Jackal added, smirking. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than two."

Kirihara and Marui laughed softly. Niou snorted. "I don't see what's so funny. I get shit every day at school because everyone thinks I'm a pot head whose mom is a whore. It's morons who think that just joking around isn't going to do anything that cause problems for people."

Marui frowned. "Dude, we were just joking. It–"

"_Suzuki_, Marui," Niou reminded him. "Remember those assholes? Yoshida was probably 'just joking.'"

"Niou-kun, calm down. They didn't mean it," Yagyuu said. He kicked Niou gently under the table, widening his eyes just enough for Niou to realize that he would get kicked ten times harder if he didn't shut it.

"Fine," Niou grumbled. "Change of subject. Yukimura, who's this girl I heard you and Sanada talkin' about the other day?"

Yukimura looked like he just ate something very sour when Kirihara wiggled his eyebrows.

.

The cashier looked terrified when they ordered a third round of food. Niou handed Kirihara his credit card with a heavy sigh; he knew his family wouldn't care, but a several thousand yen bill from Sweet Treats at eleven o'clock at night would look a bit strange.

"Dude, give me back my muffin top!" Jackal shouted, snatching the muffin top out of Marui's hand.

Marui looked like Jackal had just kicked a puppy. "I'm hungry! And I'm not going up to the cashier again. She keeps giving me weird looks."

"She's cute," Jackal said, looking on the bright side.

Marui shrugged. "Cute, but thinks I'm a fat pig who orders eight-athletic-boy-servings of food."

Jackal patted him on the shoulder sympathetically. "Cashier-customer love was never meant to be."

Marui moved awkwardly in the packed booth to get away from Jackal's hand. He looked up at Kirihara, who still hadn't had a thing to eat. "You said you were hungry. Why aren't you eating?"

Kirihara held up his third watermelon smoothie. "These suckers fill you up."

"Smoothies are epic," Yukimura added, holding up his smoothie.

Yukimura and Kirihara clinked cups. They clinked the cups a bit too hard, and smoothie was everywhere within seconds. Marui screamed before bursting out laughing. Jackal laughed. Yagyuu sighed. Yanagi gave Yukimura an you-idiot look. Sanada swore. Niou took the napkins hostage (like always).

During the napkin-hostage-negotiations, they couldn't stop laughing.

* * *

**A/N: The whole time line for this is all screwy. So, if it's the day after Niou's b-day, it's December 5****th****. I have no idea when this fic would have started. Probably late September, which means I never did a Halloween chapter. Go me.**

**theglasseslover:** Yagyuu and Yukimura aren't going anywhere, I promise. They both get enough face time a few chapters from now.


	13. Chapter 13

** Chapter 13.**

Kirihara stared down at his homework, frustrated to the point where he wanted to call it quits and burn his book. Why did math have to be so hard? More importantly, where the heck did all the numbers go? He missed two plus two. Those were the days.

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket, slamming his textbook shut. He hit one of his speed dials, ready to do all the sucking up and begging in the world to get Miyagi to help him. Miyagi was the smart one of their trio; he was also the laziest.

"Hello," Tanaka answered.

"Miho?"

"Akaya?"

"Yeah... Why are you answering Satoshi's phone?"

"Do you know that you're 'Curly Douche' on his contacts?" she asked, ignoring his question. "I'm 'M&M' apparently."

"Miho, I am extremely confused. Put Satoshi on."

"Hang on," she said. A few seconds of muffled conversation and static later, Miyagi chimed in with "Yo, Akaya, what's up?"

"Why is Miho picking up your phone? Please tell me you two aren't having an affair. I know you like her –"

"Whoa, hang on. I never said that."

"It's as obvious as a naked guy doing the Macarena on a table at Comet Café."

"We're just hanging out," he said in an end-of-story manner.

"Why wasn't I invited?"

He heard more shuffling, more static, and then Tanaka say, "Satoshi's under the impression that we don't hang out enough. His exact words were, 'You spend too much time with those damn drama kids.'"

"Either stay on, or give Satoshi the phone. This is giving me a headache."

"He's too busy texting on my phone to talk." Kirihara thought he heard Miyagi shout, "I'm texting your mom, Akaya! I think she's gay for Miho!" in the background, but he couldn't be sure.

"So why are you two hanging out without me?"

Tanaka let out an exasperated sigh. "Akaya, you can come, but it's really boring. Satoshi just spent the last ten minutes making sex jokes about Tetris. 'It's too big!' 'It won't fit!' 'It's the wrong size!' 'It's curved!' I don't think I can ever play it again."

Kirihara laughed, not sure why it was that funny. It was just another sex joke, which wasn't a rare thing in their trio. Once Kirihara got himself together, he said, "Where are you guys?"

"Sweet Treats."

"I'll be there in a minute."

Hell, he would have jumped off a bridge if it meant avoiding homework.

**.**

Kirihara was at Sweet Treats in half an hour. He quickly spotted Tanaka and Miyagi at a booth in the corner, Tanaka laughing at whatever Miyagi was saying. He walked over to them, saying, "Hey," to get their attention.

Miyagi whistled, looking Kirihara up and down. "Damn, Akaya, lookin' sharp."

Kirihara looked down at himself. Apparently holey jeans that weren't meant to have holes and a neon orange shirt that made him look like a traffic cone was sharp. This is why he hated fashion.

Tanaka moved her bag, and Kirihara slid in next to her. "That's not that sharp," she said bluntly. "But it's still better than Satoshi, who looks like a douche."

Miyagi frowned. "V-necks turn the ladies on. Right, Miho?"

"I said you looked like a douche. I said it when we showed up, too. I said it when those girls laughed at you and you thought they thought you were cute. I said it when –"

"I get it," Miyagi said with an eye roll. He nodded once at Kirihara. "She wants me."

Tanaka groaned, kicking him under the table. "You suck."

Miyagi smirked. "You swallow."

"You spit."

"You up chuck."

"You just chuck."

"You just up."

Tanaka sat there, thinking, wondering if she could turn that back at him. "Damn," she swore. "I can't think of another one."

Miyagi tossed his hands into the air. "Woot! I win!"

The two laughed, but Kirihara didn't understand. It must have been an inside joke.

It's strange, Kirihara realized as he watched his two best friends, how they were completely different, yet exactly the same, but unmistakably perfect together. And weird. So very, very weird.

It reminded him of how Tachibana Ann used to make him feel.

.

They left Sweat Treats with major sugar highs. Tanaka was walking between the two, her arms hooked with each of the boys' elbows. Tanaka kept swaying her hips, dancing as much as her position allowed. Miyagi joined along at one point. Kirihara rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Akaya, don't be such a party pooper," Tanaka said, bumping her hip into his.

Kirihara did something with his shoulders and his feet and his hips, and he knew he looked like a total idiot, but it made Tanaka laugh, so it was worth it. He loved that girl like a sister.

"So, you two got any dates for the winter dance?" Tanaka asked. "I'm going –"

"With your boyfriend," Kirihara and Miyagi chanted in unison.

Tanaka smiled. "So, you two goin' or not?"

"We're too hot for any of the girls at our school," Miyagi informed her, grinning and doing something with his torso and feet that made the girls they passed giggle. Tanaka gave him a look. Miyagi sighed, undoing his arm from Tanaka, hugging her sideways. "You're hot, don't worry."

"This is very uncomfortable," she muttered, letting go of Kirihara's elbow, pushing Miyagi off of her.

"You're blushing," Miyagi said, pointing to her cheeks. "See, pink_. Blushing._"

"You going to the dance, Akaya?" Tanaka asked, ignoring Miyagi. "I bet you've had a lot of girls ask you."

Kirihara had had a lot of girls ask him, but he didn't like any of them, at least not like _that_. He shrugged. "I think I'm just gonna chill at home."

"Dude, Bro Night," Miyagi said, holding a fist out in front of Tanaka.

"Hell yeah!" Kirihara shouted, bumping Miyagi's fist.

Tanaka rolled her eyes.

.

Kirihara's family wasn't home when they got to his apartment. Miyagi and Tanaka sat on the kitchen counter, singing obnoxiously loud and off key, as Kirihara put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. He set the time and the microwave started, but he didn't move.

Tanaka stopped singing, looking at Kirihara. "Akaya, no matter how hard you stare, it isn't going to work any faster."

"Yes, it will," Kirihara said. "It's a law. If you stare at things, they work faster. Also, microwave seconds are longer than regular seconds. School seconds are ten times longer than microwave seconds."

Miyagi nodded in agreement. "And, if you press buttons over and over, they work faster. It's science, Miho. They've done tests."

Tanaka grinned. "Right. _Tests_. And I'm an alien who shoots flowers out of my ass."

Miyagi tapped his foot against Tanaka's, laughing, "Come on, Miho, we all know flowers don't come out .of your ass. Something much more disgusting does."

"It was a joke," she said, scooting away from him. "And _you're _disgusting. Are guys programmed to laugh whenever an ass is mentioned?"

"Asses, penises, farts... We have a lot of automatic laughs," Miyagi informed her. "Akaya, did I miss any?"

Kirihara hummed, eyes locked on the timer. "Lesbian porn, but that doesn't really get a laugh."

Tanaka jumped off the counter, shaking her head and smiling (though she wasn't quite sure why she was doing the later of the two). "You two are disgusting pigs. I'm going to the other room and barfing."

"'kay!" Akaya shouted.

"I'm still in the room, genius," she mumbled. "I need new friends."

"You love us and my douche v-neck, Miho! Don't deny our love!" Miyagi yelled.

She left. Kirihara and Miyagi couldn't stop laughing.

.

The two ended up spending the night at Kirihara's, which wasn't all that odd. After a few quick calls home and the green light from Kirihara's parents, Tanaka and Miyagi had pulled their overnight bags out of the hall closet and set up camp on Kirihara's floor.

Several conversations later – some deep, some not so much – the three were fast asleep; Kirihara on his bed, while Miyagi and Tanaka slept on the floor in sleeping bags.

Miyagi felt someone poke him. He immediately knew it was Tanaka because he doubted Kirihara had nails that long, or painful.

"Miho?" He sat up, wiping away the sleep-crust in the corner of his eye. "What's wrong?"

She was sitting criss-cross on the edge of her sleeping bag, holding onto it like it was about to spring to life. "I had a nightmare."

Miyagi made a small noise, moving over in his sleeping bag, tapping the small empty space next to him.

Tanaka looked at the space, and then at Miyagi. "Yeah... that's not happening."

"I won't bite," he said, grinning in the dark. Then he winked. "Unless you want me to."

She turned red, but he couldn't see. A few awkward kicks and swears later, she was lying under the thick fabric of the sleeping bag, her back to Miyagi. It was a tight fit, but it worked. Barely.

"What was it about?" he asked, moving his pillow so she could use it. "The nightmare?"

She moved the pillow back so they could both use it. "You and Akaya left me because some pretty, popular girl wanted to be friends with you. Everything went around that could go wrong, and I was alone. It was... weird."

Miyagi stared at her silhouette for a moment, and then put an arm over her side, making sure to avoid any awkward places, so he could pull her close to him. "We're right here, Miho, you know that. We aren't going anywhere for a long, long time. We love you."

"Lucky me," she said, chuckling.

"Hey, I let you in my bag; I can kick you out."

Tanaka grinned, mumbling something Miyagi didn't quite catch, and closed her eyes. A few moments later, Miyagi heard: "Thanks."

Miyagi smiled. "No prob."

.

Kirihara woke up with a groan, pushing himself up onto his knees. He rubbed the bits of drool off the corner of his mouth, stifling a yawn as he did so. He turned and looked at the floor, his jaw dropping.

Tanaka and Miyagi. In a sleeping bag. Together. He was going to puke.

Kirihara grabbed one of his pillows, tossing it at them, hitting their heads. The two stirred awake – Tanaka sitting up rather violently, her hair wiping up with her, while Miyagi yawned, rubbing at his eyes.

"Is it morning?" Miyagi asked groggily.

"Akaya, it's not what it looks like!" Tanaka shouted.

Miyagi grinned, turning to face Kirihara. "It's exactly what it looks like, Akaya. Miho had a nightmare and needed a big, strong, sexy man to protect her. I guess I'm sexier than you. Sorry."

"If anyone is sexy, it's me," Kirihara mumbled, lying back down. "I'm going to sleep to wake up from this disturbing nightmare."

Miyagi laughed. Tanaka hit him in the head with a pillow. Kirihara faked a snore.

* * *

**A/N: I love writing these three and I have no reason why. **

**theglasseslover: **I know what you mean about screwed up timelines. At least this story is linear. Have you ever watched _Baccano!_ ? It's confusing as anything, but a two thumbs up. And I'm thrilled that there are so many epic points! Normal life is epic if you squint hard enough.


	14. Chapter 14

** Chapter 14.**

Yukimura was not into the whole "holiday season" joy. For him, it was a time of stress, money problems, and a reminder that people suck. Some people were upset when he said "merry Christmas" instead of "happy holidays," or the other way around. And people were so happy and glad to donate to the needy, but didn't give a crap during any other time of the year – was it so hard to give your extra clothes to that homeless shelter down the street instead of tossing them?

He ran a comb through his wet hair, making a mental list of places he needed to go. He needed to get Emiko a gift, his father, his grandparents, his other grandparents, his aunt and uncle, his cousin, the team, Tezuka and Atobe (just because he feels like a jerk when he doesn't send their teams a card), and a bunch of other people he was bound to forget about.

He gave up on his hair, leaving his bathroom and going into his bedroom, holding a towel around his waist. He closed his door behind him, locking it – the last thing he needed was for his sister to walk in on him in his birthday suit. It had happened far too many times, and it the awkward-level continued to grow each time it happened.

He opened up his dresser, quickly pulling on a pair of boxers and jeans. He grabbed a belt that was on the floor, slipping it through the belt loops as he crossed the room. He clicked his belt into place, and then pulled his closet open, grabbing the first shirt he saw. Yukimura slipped it over his head, thankful it was long-sleeve.

He did a three-sixty as he patted down his back pockets. Then he headed for his desk, grabbing his wallet, house keys, phone, and hair tie. And then it was back to the bathroom to put up his hair.

Running around on a Sunday morning made him like a seal doing tricks for money.

The holidays sucked.

.

Yukimura felt like a girl. He was struggling to hold half a dozen bags while not bumping into people. It should have been an Olympic Sport – the Christmas Shopping Shuffle. But he was meeting up with Sanada and Yanagi at Comet Café, and if that wasn't a damn cloud with a silver lining, Yukimura didn't know what was.

Yukimura smiled and thanked the young girl who held the door to the café for him. He glanced around the café, quickly spotting Sanada and Yanagi in the corner. He dodged the couples and tables, heading back towards the table.

Yukimura set the bags down on the floor next to their table, groaning as he collapsed into the chair. "I. Hate. Shopping."

"It can't be that bad," Yanagi said. "I went shopping last week, and I had a wonderful time."

"It was terrible," Yukimura said for a second time.

"What happened?" Sanada asked with a sigh. No one ever said anything, but Yukimura was known to over exaggerate by… Well, to put it simply, if Yukimura saw a fire, he saw a volcano erupt.

"I went to get a shirt for Emiko, and this six year old ripped it out of my hands. Why did she need a shirt that was made for someone with boobs?"

"A six year old?" Sanada sounded skeptical.

Yukimura nodded, his face grim. "She was the devil. Worse than Tezuka on caffeine."

Yanagi smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. Tezuka on caffeine was an interesting sight indeed. "At least you're done."

"I have to go to one more place. I need to get Emiko a gift because –"

"Of the devil six year old," Sanada cut in.

Yukimura gave Sanada trying look. "Yes, because of the devil six year old."

"When are we exchanging team gifts?" Yanagi asked, changing the subject before Sanada and Yukimura started one of their pointless feuds. "My mother would like to know because we are making plans to visit my sister."

"Is she still doing that thing with those people in that place?" Yukimura asked, taking Sanada's coffee, taking a sip. He grimaced, decided he would need the caffeine, and took another sip.

"Yes, Seiichi, she's still studying in London."

"Cool."

"And my question…?" Yukimura blinked, confused. Yanagi sighed; Yukimura tested his patience more than calculus. So Yanagi asked again: "When are we exchanging team gifts?"

"New Year's Eve?" Yukimura suggested. "I don't think Niou's dad is doing a party this year, so I'm sure he can come."

"Akaya told me he didn't have any plans after Christmas," Sanada added in. "And I believe Marui could come as long as he didn't make plans with Suzuki-chan."

"We could do the exchange at my house," Yanagi said. "My parents are going out to a company party and said I could have a few friends over."

"Then it's settled – we'll do gifts on New Year's Eve at Renji's house. Now, Renji, is your coffee better than this mud Genchirou is drinking?"

.

Yukimura's last stop of the day was Silly Lilies. He headed across town, feeling rather stupid carrying all those bags. He figured he would put them at X-treme when he was done at Silly Lilies, and then help his dad with the Christmas crowd.

Yukimura felt like someone shot perfume up his nose when he walked into the flower shop. It must have been a slow day, because the only person in the store was a teenage girl sitting on the counter, playing a game on her phone.

It took Yukimura a second to recognize the girl as Koga – he hadn't seen her since he bought the tulips, and she looked different than she had that day. She wasn't in her school uniform (why would she be?); she wearing her black apron over holey jeans and a faded plaid shirt. She looked even cuter than before, or at least Yukimura thought so.

Yukimura walked up to the counter, clearing his throat. Koga's head snapped up, her ears turning pink as she closed her phone and jumped off the counter. She tried to shove her phone into her pocket, swearing softly when her phone would fit in her borderline-too-tight jeans' pocket. She slipped it into her apron pocket, feeling like a dork.

Yukimura smiled. "Still swearing, I see."

"Sorry," she mumbled, walking around the counter, "I didn't see you."

"It's alright, Koga-chan."

The pink tint on her ears traveled to her cheeks. Yukimura wasn't sure whether she was surprised that he remembered her name, or if she was embarrassed.

"A dozen pink tulips, right?" she asked, changing the non-existent subject.

"You remember my order but not my name?" He set his bags on the counter, moving them around so he could see her face. "I'm hurt."

"You never told me your name," she pointed out.

"Yukimura," he said. "And, actually, I don't want tulips. I need a vase."

She looked at a wall where dozens of flower arrangements were in vases on shelves. "We sell bouquets in vases, but not vases just by themselves. So you'll have to buy an arrangement. Does that make sense?"

"Clear as a blue sky." He paused. "Can you give me some opinions? I don't know much about vases, or flowers, really."

Koga laughed softly, walking back around the counter. Yukimura felt his insides go funny, but in a good way. "Trust me, it's okay," she said, heading over to the wall, Yukimura right behind her. "There was this old guy who came in, asking what kind of flowers to get his wife for their fiftieth anniversary. He had no idea what to get her, even after all this time."

"Would it make me less of a man if I said that that's the sweetest thing ever?" Yukimura asked, the two stopping at the wall.

She looked at him, just smiling. "You're secret's safe with me, Yukimura-senpai."

Yukimura looked at the wall. All the vases looked the same, but they must have been different in some way. He felt his stomach drop. Would he look like an idiot if he said they all looked the same? Why did it matter if he looked like an idiot?

"So, what does your girlfriend like?" Koga asked, looking at him, waiting.

"Who said I had a girlfriend?"

She shrugged, looking at the wall instead of him. "I just assumed those tulips were for your girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend," he told her. "The tulips were for my mom, and the vase is for my sister."

"That's… sweet."

"I'm a sweet guy."

"And cocky, apparently," she said, but there was no venom in her words.

"Ha, ha, ha." He rolled his eyes, smiling. Then he looked back at the vases, frowning. "I don't know which one to pick."

"Which one catches your eye?"

Yukimura looked at the wall. His eyes darted from vase to vase, but nothing caught his eye. Something else caught his eye, but it definitely wasn't a vase. Finally, he pointed to a vase with white daisies. It was tinted green – Emiko's favorite color – and spread out at the top. "That one?"

Koga tilted her head, humming as though she was staring at an unsolved math problem. "I think it's nice," she finally said. "But I don't know your sister, so I can't really say."

Yukimura looked at it again. "I like it."

"Okay… So, is this it?" she asked, grabbing it off the shelf. When Yukimura nodded, they walked back over to the counter. She took the flowers out of the vase, wrapping them in white plastic, tying them with a black ribbon. Then she wrapped the vase in some sort of paper, slipping it into a recyclable bag.

"That will be… four thousand and seven hundred yen."

Yukimura reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He pulled out a couple of bills, handing them to her, taking his receipt and change a few seconds later.

"Happy holidays," she said, handing him the bag and bouquet.

Yukimura took the bag, but not the flowers. "Like I said, I just need the vase."

"You're kidding, right? What am I supposed to do with them?"

"Put them in water at your house? Toss them? Give them to a random couple? I don't care." He grabbed his other bags, smiling at her dumbfounded expression. "Happy holidays, Koga-chan."

She put the daises to her nose after he left to store, smiling like a fool into the petals.

* * *

**A/N: No comments :)**

**theglasslover:** I'm going to start throwing in some of the other characters a lot more in the upcoming chapters. I plan to focus on Yukimura in particular for a good bit of time. As for Kirihara and penises (wow, that's an awkward sentence), I didn't plan it like that. I think he's just a perv and so are his friends.


	15. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15.**

When Marui didn't open his bedroom door, Suzuki let herself in. She felt like she was in Narnia. His room was so neat and clean compared to her disaster of a room. Though, she had to admit his room was most likely clean because his mom probably makes him clean it every time someone slips on a tennis ball, which, judging by the amount of stray balls in the room, was often.

"Wake up, Bunta," she said, sitting on the edge of his bed. She shook his shoulder, but he rolled her hand off with ease. She put her hand back on his shoulder, digging her nails in. "Wake. Up."

"Son of a – that hurt, Akira!"

"Then wake up. Unless you want to sleep for another ten minutes and skip breakfast."

"I'll skip. Now, go away," Marui mumbled. He pulled a pillow over his head and the sheets up higher.

"I'll sing," she threatened. "Perhaps pop."

Marui sat up like she had just dumped cold water on him. There were many things Suzuki was good at –swearing, drinking a gallon of peach juice in less than five minutes, softball, and girl-logic (duh). Singing was not and never would be part of that list. She sounded like an eight year old trying to play a trumpet, and not one of those prodigy kids, just your run of the mill kid. Actually, it was worse.

Marui narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, I will. I can do requests."

"Does the term 'cruel and unusual punishment' mean _anything _to you, Akira?"

She crossed her arms and stood up. Then she dropped her arms and let out a sigh of epic proportions. "_Come on_. This is our last day of school before winter break. Be happy, damn it."

"Lady-like."

"I know. Now get your butt up." She pulled his sheets off of him and smirked. "Pink boxers. Manly."

Marui could feel the blood rising to his cheeks. "Shut it. It was laundry night last night. It was pink or leopard."

.

The first thing they heard when they walked through the school doors was something about the winter dance. Marui followed Suzuki to her cubby, slipping his hands into his pockets and leaning up against the cubbies.

"Are you going to the dance?" Marui asked.

She shrugged. She got up on her toes, holding her skirt down with one hand, using the other to grab her shoes out of her cubby. "After Disaster Yoshida 2.0, I will not be dating anyone for awhile. Unless he is a two syllable _da-amn_."

"2.0?"

"Yup. I got used _and _called a whore. Two times the suckage."

Marui sighed. "Oh, come on, Akira, don't worry about those idiots. People who gossip are asses and aren't worth the trouble."

Suzuki glared at him, bending her knee so her leg popped back to take off her shoe. "So says Marui Bunta, Mr. Popular. The only rumors about you are which girl you went out with. And if rumors about you sleeping with someone did start, you're a guy, it wouldn't matter."

"Popular people are hated by half the school. Trust me, no one is popular."

She popped out her other knee, taking off her second shoe. "Good point."

"_Exactly._ So, we gonna hang out like a bunch of losers on dance-night? Jackal's leaving to visit family, so I'm a lone wolf."

"Aw, poor Wolfy."

She smiled, stepping into her school shoes. Then someone pulled on her scarf – it was a feeling she was becoming accustomed to. She spun around, hair spinning. She opened her mouth to tell Ito to go away, but she couldn't get the words to come out. She adjusted Ito's scarf, ignoring the smug smirk that formed on his lips.

"I'll see you later, Bunta," she said. Then she turned and walked away.

Marui and Ito both stared at her as she left. After a moment of silence, Ito turned to Marui.

"Is Akira okay? She's been acting weird lately. She hasn't been herself since – " Ito stopped from saying 'since that time at the shed.' He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, since awhile."

Marui turned his head so fast it hurt. He stared at Ito. "You know her name?"

Ito nodded slowly. "Yeah… Suzuki Akira. Unless she changed it."

Marui blinked six times, opened his mouth, closed it, and blinked two more times. "You only call her 'Toots.'"

"It's a pet name." He shrugged, smiling in a goofy sort of way, as though he was thinking back to a childhood memory. "Long story."

Marui kept blinking. He had known Suzuki since they were both seven, and he knew that Suzuki and Ito used to be friends. What happened between the two that changed that was a mystery to Marui. But Marui never thought they were close enough to use first names.

Ito slipped his hands into his pockets. "Alright, Mr. Blinky. I'm going to class. See ya around."

When Ito turned and headed for the stairs, Marui made a bee-line for his cubby. Well, that was strange.

.

When the last bell of the day rang, everyone sprinted for the doors. People shouted and clapped – the feeling of knowing they didn't have to wake up for the next few days was like a shot of caffeine into their veins. Vacation to teenagers was like being a kid walking into a candy shop that sold toys – totally freakin' awesome.

Marui held the door open for Suzuki, bowing slightly. She laughed and rolled her eyes. Marui laughed right back, holding the door open for a few more people before he was finally able to go through himself.

"So," Suzuki said, "what do you want for Christmas?"

Marui tossed his head back and swore loudly. A few girls giggled, some rolled their eyes, but he didn't care. He set his head back straight, pouting. "I still need to go shopping."

"Let's go now," Suzuki suggested. She breathed into her hands. "I need to get Etsuko and my parents gifts, anyways. We'll be hitting two birds with one can of whoop-ass."

"You sure?" Marui sounded unsure. The last time they went shopping, Marui had to nod and smile to every old couple that said him and Suzuki were adorable together. It was terrible.

Suzuki nodded. "Totally. I'll even pay for smoothies. I'm in a good mood today."

"Sweet."

"Yes, yes I am."

Marui snorted. Suzuki grinned.

.

They went to Sweet Treats after they finished shopping, and Suzuki held up her end of the deal. Smoothies and bags in hand, the two headed over to a table pressed against the wall. They shoved their school bags and shopping bags under the table without anything spilling. They tried to drink their smoothies, but chunks of fruit got stuck in their straws – it always did.

"Oh, my cheeks hurt," Suzuki moaned. She poked at her straw. "Stupid strawberry chunks."

"I'm just surprised you didn't get peach. You're peachier than Peach from Mario, and she wears pink."

"I never understood her," Suzuki said. "She's princess of the _Mushroom Kingdom_. First of all: where the hell are her parents? Second: why mushrooms? Were they druggies? Third: _Peach_. Who the hell names their kid Peach?"

"I know a guy whose name means peach," Marui mused.

Suzuki stared. "Random much?"

"Sooo,_ random_ change of subject." Suzuki rolled her eyes. Marui moved the straw around his smoothie, as though that would somehow make the junks disappear and the smoothie more drinkable. "Ito does know your real name, Akira, believe it or not."

"I know." She paused. "Did you not know that? I thought you were a genius, Bunta."

Marui kicked her gently. "Akira, what's up with you and him? I know something is because he is pretty damn obsessed with your scarf and – you two are dating, aren't you?"

"We are not! I would never date him!" she shouted. Suzuki kicked him back, hard. Marui swore, and she sunk into her chair, running a hand through her hair. "He's just... It's a long story."

"We've got time." Marui put his straw between his lips, sucking as hard as he could. Then his cheeks began to burn, and set his smoothie down. "Smoothies aren't meant to be this frustrating."

"I know, right? I mean –"

"Don't change the subject," Marui said sharply. "What's up with Ito? I've been wondering this since like, junior high. I've been patient, trying not to let curiosity kill the cat, but I'm going to kill the cat if I don't hear what is up with you two."

"It isn't exactly a pleasant memory." She stared at her smoothie, hands moving restlessly, as though she didn't know what to do with them. "I don't... He's..."

Marui realized that perhaps this wasn't going to be the funniest of stories and perhaps there was a reason she hadn't told him earlier (considering they tell each other everything). "Akira," he said, "you don't have to –"

"No, you deserve to know, Bunta. I probably should have told you this earlier." Suzuki sighed, and then took a deep breath and began. "You know I was friends with him before you, right? I mean, we practically grew up together. We went to the same daycare as babies, the same after school programs, same school... I grew up calling him Ryuu, and he called me Akira. I know it sounds kind of cliché-romance-movie-like, but he's always been in my life. Even now, he still is."

Marui blinked. "_Wait._ I thought you hated him."

"No! I don't _hate_ him. We just... Let me finish the story, okay? So, in junior high, I was best friends with you by then, and Ito was basically out of my life. Then I joined the softball club, and he joined the baseball club. We started talking again, hanging out when I wasn't with you.

"It was spring of our second year of junior high to stands out the most. We had become rivals of some sort by then; we were both regulars and top picks for captain. The clubs saved money by using one bus, and on a ride to a tournament the senpai started a game of truth-or-dare. Ito was dared to kiss me, and refused to. He said, 'Why would I ever kiss a flat chested freak like her?'"

Marui winced. Suzuki was a girl, and like every girl, she was very self conscious, even if she didn't always show it. Marui had spent more than his fair share of nights with her, eating ice-cream and laughing so she didn't break down from the names. It had gotten better since junior high because people have grown up, but there were still jerks and morons.

"So," Suzuki continued, playing with the straw of her smoothie, "everyone laughed. I punched him in the arm, pretending I didn't care, but it hurt coming from him. I pushed through the tournament, and got my mom to pick me up so I didn't have to ride the bus again. I stayed home for a few days. I told you I was sick because I was too embarrassed to admit that what he said hurt me.

"After being out and ignoring his calls for like, three days, Ito showed up at my house. He tried to apologize. He said he was only trying to impress the guys. I don't know what I was thinking, but I hit him. He, um, well, he, huh..."

"Let me guess, he kissed you?"

She licked her lips. "He hit me back."

Marui clenched his jaw. He stayed out of Suzuki's life when she told him, but when someone hurt her... But no one had hurt her, at least, not physically. Anger so intense that Marui didn't know how his nails weren't through his hand rushed through his veins. "I'll kill him, Akira. Jackal can boxer-punch his ass, then Yukimura can kill him, and I'll parade his head around on a stick. Then Niou and his rich, boney ass can get us the best lawyer in the whole damn world."

"Don't even think about it," she snapped. "He's there for me, Bunta. He's trying to make up for it. He's been trying to make up for it since the second he did it. Remember when I freaked when I saw Yoshida with his latest girlfriend? Ito found me and was – well, he was Ito. He made me smile when all I wanted to do was cry."

"He gave you the scarf," Marui said, finally making the connection. Suzuki nodded. Marui wanted to bang his head against the wall. This was just ridiculous. "Given what you just said, I'm calling Mrs. Peacock in the ballroom with the candlestick."

"I hated that game as a kid, and even if I didn't, that wouldn't make any sense whatsoever. What do you mean?"

"You looooove him," Marui teased, grinning.

She rolled her eyes, cheeks red. "I don't love him. I don't even think I like him like that. We're... friends. You know how we act."

"You flirt."

"We argue."

"Which is flirting."

Suzuki groaned. "Twenty seconds ago you wanted to put his head on a stick! This is just ridiculous, Bunta."

"Akira and Ito sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S –"

"_I'll sing_."

"Alright, alright! I'll stop teasing," Marui caved. He began to toy with his smoothie straw, a grin forming on his lips that was far too similar to Niou's. "So whydoes he call you Toots if it isn't a lovey-dovey thing?"

"Do I really –"

"Yes. Spill like the oil, Akira. Be the spilt milk. Become the –"

"Alright, just shut up!" She turned as red as Marui's hair. "On our first day of junior high, I was in a hurry to get to class because I got lost, and I tripped up the stairs. My skirt flew up and Ito was right behind me, and I had tootsie-pop underwear – _stop laughing!_"

She kicked him again and again, but he didn't stop. She crossed her arms, resting her head on them to hide her face and to drown out his laughter. Eventually, Marui did stop, and patted her on the head. "Don't worry, I still love you."

She lifted her head, glaring. "Gee, thanks."

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't pick Tensai as a nickname," Marui told her. Suzuki raised her eyebrows. "During our first year of junior high, I ran into a fence and chipped a tooth. People called me 'genius' sarcastically, and I played along so they'd stop."

Suzuki had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing. "You told me Niou punched you."

"Nope. This baby is my fault." Marui's tongue flicked over his front tooth that had been capped. "I wasn't looking where I was going and _bam!_ My mom still laughs at me. My dentist tells me not to run into any fences whenever I leave. It's the only thing the tennis guys wrote in my yearbook that year. Haruto and Hikaru imitate me when they decide to be jerks. People bring it up from time to time. It's terrible. It's worse than the plague. It's worse than castration, and that is the worst thing ever."

She burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter that made her cry. Oddly enough that did make her feel better. Or maybe it was the fact that everyone has something they're too proud to admit that comforted her. Either way, it was hilarious.

* * *

**A/N: It is possible to run into a fence and chip a tooth – someone in track at my school did. **


	16. Chapter 16

** Chapter 16.**

Niou parked his car in the small parking lot next to a set of apartments. It wasn't the best area or the worst; it was just that place that was there, where struggling families lived, where some shifty people walked around. People of his "class" wouldn't be caught dead there. Niou knew it like the back of his hand. He always enjoyed being a rebel.

Niou locked the car, jogging up the stairs of the apartments to the third floor. He shoved his hand into his pocket, pulling out a key set. He found a key marked with 'H' and stuck it into the door, opening it up. He let himself in, closing and locking the door behind him.

As he took off his shoes, he spotted Yagyuu through an archway. Yagyuu didn't see him. Niou tip-toed like the Pink Panther, humming a spy song in his head as he maneuvered around several beer bottles and cans.

Yagyuu had his back to Niou, but the little girl at the table was staring straight at him. Niou winked and put a finger to his lips. She smiled, mimicking his gestures. Niou snuck up behind Yagyuu, blowing on the back of his partner's neck.

"NAOMI!" Yagyuu shouted. The little girl at the table, Naomi, Yagyuu's little sister, was laughing just like Niou. Yagyuu turned around, rubbing at the back of his neck. He sighed. "Niou-kun, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry –about – that," Niou choked out through his laughter.

Yagyuu sighed again. "That key was for emergencies only."

Niou shrugged, composing himself. "What did you guys get for breakfast? I'm hungry, but I don't know what I want," he said, walking towards the fridge. When he opened it, he realized it was almost empty.

"Our mom forgot to go shopping," Yagyuu said softly, glancing at Naomi, who was eating dry cereal, "and I didn't have time to go to the market down the street before Naomi woke up."

"Come on, let's head out now. We'll grab something on the way to the mall," Niou said, jerking his head towards the front door.

"Naomi's friend canceled and I can't leave her here alone," Yagyuu explained. "I tried to call you, but you weren't picking up."

Niou looked at the table; Naomi was staring at them. Niou walked towards her, smiling at her like he would at his own sister or brother. He squatted next to the table as he said, "You can come, if you want, Nao-chan."

Naomi's face lit up. "Really, Niou-nii?"

Niou nodded and stood up, picking Naomi up as he did so. "As long as it's okay with Hiroshi."

Naomi looked at Yagyuu, who pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Alright."

"Yippy! Thank you, Niou-nii!"Naomi wrapped her arms around Niou's neck, giggling.

.

Niou drove them into town, listening to a radio station he didn't particularly like, but Naomi knew all the words and sung like she would never sing again, which made Yagyuu smile, which took a bit of stress off of Niou's shoulders. Niou had always known Yagyuu was too uptight, and seeing him smile was worth crappy pop music.

They headed into Comet Café, Naomi on Niou's back, Yagyuu fishing for his wallet in his pocket. Niou shot Yagyuu a look. "Dude, it's fine. I'll pay. You look like your groping your own butt, anyways."

"I still owe you money from –"

"Nao-chan," Niou cut in, ignoring her older brother, "what do you want? You can get whatever you want. My special treat."

Naomi smiled and half-shouted, "I want chocolate cake! Oh, and hot chocolate!"

Yagyuu sighed, frowning at his sister. "Naomi, it's too early for cake."

"It's alright for one day," Niou said. He knelt down, allowing Naomi to crawl off his back. "You and Hiroshi go find a table. I'll get the food. 'roshi, what do you want?"

"Coffee and scones," Yagyuu said quickly before his sister grabbed his wrist and yanked him off to a booth.

Naomi shouted something about wanting to sit in the corner. Yagyuu nodded, allowing himself to be pulled by his seven year old sister. She let go of his wrist, jumping into the booth, sitting in the corner, patting the seat next to her.

"Hiroshi, sit here! Niou-nii can sit on my other side!" Yagyuu nodded again, sliding into the booth next to her. He smiled, brushing some hair out of her face. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not a baby, Hiroshi."

"You're my baby sister, so that makes you a baby to me."

Naomi crossed her arms and slid down until her chin was level with the table. "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "It's not easy, you know, being a big brother. Maybe you should apply for a new one?"

Naomi sat up in the booth again, shaking her head. "Nope! I was only kidding!"

"You seem to be having fun," Yagyuu said, changing the subject.

She nodded, legs kicking under the table. "Yup! I love Niou-nii!"

"And I love you too," Niou said, approaching the table, arms full of burning cups and pastries. He slid into the booth next to Naomi, setting everything down on the table.

"That was quick," Yaguu commented, taking his coffee from Niou. "I will pay you back."

"No, you won't." Niou tossed a creamer at Yagyuu.

"Yeah, you're not paying, Hiroshi," Naomi said, mimicking Niou and tossing a creamer at her older brother.

Yagyuu sighed, picking the small containers off his lap. "You two really need to stop spending time together."

They didn't hear him. Niou was filling his coffee up with sugar, and Naomi was already shoveling cake into her mouth. Yagyuu wasn't sure whether to smile or sigh, so he shook his head while doing both.

.

The mall was busy. People were everywhere, dressed every which way, talking and shouting, laughing and flirting. Noise seemed to bounce off the walls, ringing in everyone's ears for far too long, only to be replaced by the next wave. Naomi clung to Niou's arm, refusing to take another step. Niou gave Yagyuu a worried look, which Yagyuu promptly ignored.

"Naomi," Yagyuu said, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder, "do you want to go somewhere else?"

Naomi let go of Niou's arm, grabbing onto Yagyuu's instead. "You and Niou-nii had plans today, right? I'll just come with you two. I don't care where."

"But if you want to leave, we can leave," Yagyuu said again. "We can go somewhere that's more quiet, or –"

"It's fine," she said softly.

Niou knelt down in front of Naomi, tilting his head to the side, nudging her until she looked at him. "Nao-chan, how about we go for a ride? It'll be like a mini-road-trip. What'd ya say?"

Naomi nodded into her brother's arm. Niou stood up, reaching into his pocket for his keys. Yagyuu mouthed: "Thank you." Niou nodded, deciding it was better not to ask in public, because he knew Yagyuu wouldn't answer.

.

Niou and Naomi were singing, loudly and badly, at the top of their lungs. Naomi leaned forward and tapped Yagyuu's shoulder, saying, "Hiroshi, sing! It's good for you!"

"There is no proof that –"

"Sing," Niou said, doing a little dance in the driver's seat. He pulled one hand off the steering wheel, rocking Yagyuu back and forth with him.

"Keep your hand on the wheel, you moron!" Yagyuu shouted, grabbing Niou by the wrist. Yagyuu shoved Niou's other hand back onto the steering wheel, obviously not as amused by his little freak-out as Niou was. "I sincerely hate you."

"You looooove us," Niou drew out. "Isn't that right, Nao-chan?"

"Yup! You looooove us!"

Ten minutes later, Yagyuu caved and began dancing in his seat and singing, ignoring Niou's cat calls and Naomi's laugh.

.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Yagyuu asked when Niou swore for the tenth time in the same minute. He looked back at Naomi, making sure she still had her ears covered. She insisted she could still hear and that "damn" wasn't _that_ bad of a word, but it made Yagyuu feel like a better big brother if he at least attempted to keep his sister from turning into his best friend.

"Just give me another minute, I'll find a road I know," Niou reassured.

Yagyuu sighed. He never felt the urge to punch any except for Niou, and that urge was strong as anything in that moment. "Just ask for directions," Yagyuu gritted through his teeth.

"That goes against the Guy Code. I can't be non-manly when there's a lady present!"

Naomi laughed. Yagyuu turned around. "You're supposed to be covering your ears."

"What was that?" Naomi asked, playing innocent.

Yagyuu turned and looked at Niou again. "Ask for directions. Now."

"Nope." Niou glanced in the mirror back at Naomi, and then at Yagyuu. As quietly as possible, Niou said, "She likes seeing you when you don't have a stick up your ass, okay? I know where we are, so chill."

"You're purposefully getting us lost to make my sister happy?"

"Fake lost, yeah."

Yagyuu lost the urge to punch Niou, until he started singing again, then the urge came back with reinforcements.

.

Niou finally got them back on track after Naomi dozed off, falling asleep in the back seat. Niou and Yagyuu had decided on a radio station that they both liked, and Niou agreed not to sing. He still danced, but Yagyuu couldn't bring himself to care.

"You're insane, Niou-kun," Yagyuu mumbled. He was sitting in his seat sideways, looking back at his sister, as though she would disappear. After a moment, he added, "She needed this."

"Yeah, about Naomi... Is she alright? She doesn't seem to like noise."

"Our parents are fighting again," Yagyuu admitted. Niou nodded; he already knew that. "Our dad started drinking again, and our mom is still in therapy for her depression. I'm used to them fighting, but Naomi isn't."

"Do you –"

"We're fine."

Niou left the conversation at that. The last time he got too involved with Yagyuu's life, it led to Niou getting a black eye.

.

When Niou finally pulled into the small parking lot at the side of the apartment complex Yagyuu lived at, Yagyuu thank him for the day. Niou opened his door, stepping out, saying, "Dude, you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Yagyuu sighed, opening up his door and getting out of the car as well. "I figured as much."

"I'll go unlock the door. You get Naomi," Niou shouted, already heading for the stairs.

Yagyuu sighed again, a habit he picked up after meeting Niou, and opened the back door of his friend's car. He undid his little sister's seatbelt, slipping his arms under her to pick her up. He pulled her out of the car, cradling her like a princess; she wrapped her arms around his neck, letting out a small snore-like noise. Yagyuu smiled.

Yagyuu closed the door with his hip, and heard it beep and lock a second later. Yagyuu looked around the car – Niou was coming back down the stairs.

"I forgot I'd need to lock it," Niou said dumbly as he slipped his car keys into his pocket.

"Please tell me you didn't leave our apartment unlocked."

"I'm not that stupid, Hiroshi."

Yagyuu sighed, walking around the car and towards the stairs. Niou grinned, making some comment about how Yagyuu needs to loosen up. Yagyuu didn't say anything.

Niou unlocked the apartment door. The Trickster was slightly surprised when he saw that none of the lights were on. "Is anyone home?"

Again, Yagyuu didn't say anything. He headed down a small hall towards Naomi's room to put her to bed, while Niou headed for the kitchen. A few minutes later, Yagyuu joined Niou.

"Thank you," Yagyuu said again.

Niou shrugged, sitting on the counter. "It's not a problem. Naomi's a cool kid."

Yagyuu didn't say that that wasn't why he was thanking him. Instead, he jumped up onto the counter next to Niou. "My parents probably won't be home tonight. I bet Naomi would like it if you were still here in the morning. I have a sleeping bag," Yagyuu offered.

Niou pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call my mom and tell her."

"If it's a nuisance –"

"'roshi, I don't mind spending the night with you, as long as you don't try any funky shit."

Yagyuu sighed. Niou grinned and winked.

* * *

**A/N: I think I've gone against every stereotype for these characters and I love writing them like that.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

** Chapter 17.**

The sound of his phone vibrating against wood was driving Niou insane. He groped his nightstand for his phone, wondering who the hell was crazy enough to call him this early in the morning during a break. After a few seconds, he found his phone and shoved it to his ear.

"Somebody better be missing a leg, or you're going to be very soon," Niou threatened.

"You told me to call you to wake you up," Yagyuu said. "You said you didn't want to miss setting up this 'douche bag dance festival thing.'"

Niou groaned when he glanced at his clock. "Too early."

"It's the first day of winter," Yagyuu added. "Are you hibernating?"

"Go screw yourself, Hiroshi. I'll show up at the school later. Now let me go back to sleep. I was dreaming about hot girls in bikinis, damn it."

"Lovely."

Niou snorted and hung up, tossing his phone on the other side of his enormous bed. Holding a pillow, he rolled onto his stomach and snuggled against his silk sheets.

.

Niou felt strange pulling up to the school in a car. Students weren't allowed to drive to school, and he felt powerful for some reason. Then again, he was coming to school on his day off, which wasn't a good thing in his book. Niou switched off his music and grabbed the box of muffins he had picked up at Comet Café, and the coffee he had bought for him and Yagyuu.

He headed into school, walking the familiar path towards the gym, trying to get his hair out of his mouth. It tasted like shampoo. Maybe he had rushed the shower.

He opened the gym door with his butt, and someone immediately grabbed the container of muffins away from him. Niou smiled, grabbing the cups of coffee off the top. "Thanks, Cupcake. Give one to whoever wants one," he said to the girl who had helped. He didn't know her name, but he had seen her before.

Tennis groupie? No.

On the girls' tennis team? No.

In one of his classes? No.

Ex-girlfriend? No.

President of the first year class? Freak yeah.

"Oh, you're Hiroshi's friend," Niou cooed, grinning from ear to ear. She turned red. Niou took a sip of his coffee. "You two got a thing? I can't tell."

"No!" she half-shouted.

"Really? I could have sworn who two had some kinky thing going on." Niou took another sip of coffee. "You sure?"

"Niou-kun!" Yagyuu shouted from the other side of the gym. Even from the other side of the room, Yagyuu knew Niou was up to no good. Typical. "Leave her alone!"

"I'm not going to grow tentacles and kill her, so calm down!" Niou looked back at the girl, winked, and crossed the gym. Yagyuu was up on a ladder, hanging up a banner. Niou took a sip of his coffee – nineteen hours of sleep and a shower later, he was still tired. Niou kicked the ladder gently, just enough to make it wiggle.

Yagyuu looked down, sending daggers at Niou. "Stop it."

"Keep lookin' at me like that and people will realize you're no gentleman, _Gentleman_," Niou told him. "Oh, and the first year cutie, the one handing out the muffins I brought in, isn't into you. What's her name?"

"Chishu Usagi," Yagyuu said, slowly making his way back down the ladder. A few seconds later, he grabbed the other cup of coffee out of Niou's hand, looking across the gym at Chishu, then back at Niou. "And of course she isn't 'into me.' It's completely platonic."

"This is boring. Why can't you student council guys hook up more often? It's no fun when I can't tease your girlfriend." Niou smirked. "So, whatcha need help with? This place looks like... the gym."

Yagyuu pointed with his free hand towards a group of girls putting lights up along the bleachers, which had been pushed in. "They need help."

Niou handed Yagyuu his coffee, slipped his hands into his pockets, and began to walk across the gym. Half way through, he stopped and pivoted. At the top of his lungs he shouted, "Hiroshi, I have your clothes for tonight in my car!"

Yagyuu spit out his mouthful of coffee.

"We're not gay!" Niou added, also at the top of his lungs.

Everyone looked at them. Yagyuu sighed. Niou turned and jogged towards the girls.

.

Marui, Yukimura, Kirihara and Niou were the only ones on the tennis team who were truly popular. Kirihara was the funny guy, the one who couldn't get serious about anything besides tennis. Marui was the player who had a girlfriend every other week, though chose to stay fairly-girlfriend free this year. Yukimura was known to fool around, but never "fool" around. Yukimura and Marui had good intentions, but those intentions were always skewed somewhere along the way.

Niou, on the other hand, didn't date. He was a very logical person, despite being heavily chaotic to the point where the "Gentleman" and he were considered polar opposites (if Yagyuu really was a Gentleman, which he wasn't). Niou didn't understand relationships. They were too much pressure. A few quick kisses behind the locker room, or a congratulations-you-won! kiss after a match was enough for him. His other "needs" he could take care of himself.

It wasn't that he was gay, he was attracted to women, he just didn't see the benefits to being in a long term relationship that wasn't going to last. High school relationships worked out one time out of a hundred, probably less. His parents met in high school, and Niou had never seen two people more in love. Niou wasn't in love, so he didn't see the point.

The only thing that made less sense than relationships were dances. He could only perceive dances as courtship rituals between mammals of the opposite to attract a partner. Being stuck in a hot room with people he didn't know wasn't exactly ideal. He didn't understand how they were fun.

But he pretended because if he wasn't the bad boy who flirted his ass off he'd be the rich smart-ass that no one liked.

"Come on, I won't touch anymore than I need to to push you up," Niou promised the girl who couldn't reach high enough to hang up the lights. She laughed and shook her head, her friends laughing behind her. "_Just one push_. You're friends aren't strong enough, and 'roshi is using the only ladder."

The girl looked at her friends, who were still giggling. She looked at Niou and pointed her finger at him. "No funny business."

Niou smirked. "Come on, would I do that?"

The girl sighed, standing on her tip toes, light strand in hand. Niou winked at her friends, who burst out laughing, and cupped her butt, pushing her up. She squeaked, quickly taping the light strand into place. She looked down at Niou, who wasn't letting her down. She reached behind her, hitting his hand and yelling, "Let me down!"

Niou moved his hands off of her, catching her by the hips. "You got a date?"

"No."

"Do you want one?"

She turned out of his grip, smacking his hand. "Shouldn't you ask a girl that before feeling her up?"

Niou shrugged, slipping his hands into his pockets, tilting his head to the side, that smile Yagyuu says will get him in trouble on his lips.

"Niou-kun!" Yagyuu shouted.

"Yes, Mom!" Niou rolled his eyes. He looked back at the girl, shaking his head in disbelief. "It's like he can read my mind. We'll catch up once the dance starts. I'm on bitch-duty."

The girl headed towards her friends, smiling, while Niou walked across the gym towards Yagyuu. Yagyuu had his arms crossed, a very Sanada-like expression plastered on his face. Niou mimicked his mannerisms, and Yagyuu clenched his jaw.

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu muttered, "stop flirting. You don't even know her name."

Niou shrugged, dropping his arms to his sides. "Anything else you need help with? This place is lookin' less like a gym and more like a five-year-old's birthday party."

"I wasn't in charge of decorations, Chishu was."

"Ah, good ole Cupcake."

"You've met her twice."

"I'm going to go help those girls some more," Niou stated. "Is that alright, or do you need something else?"

Yagyuu sighed. "Is she cute, the girl you're borderline sexually harassing?"

"Yeah."

"Go help them."

Niou smirked. "See, we're not so different after all."

Niou didn't wait for Yagyuu to respond, choosing to dance across the gym instead, butt wiggles and American disco moves included.

.

By the time the DJ arrived and people arrived with food for those who helped out, it didn't look like the gym at all, or a five-year-old's birthday party. It looked like a winter dance – a mix of white and blue lights strung up everywhere, white and blue streamers, and silver stars hanging from the ceiling. Niou figured Chishu and Yagyuu could finish up what was left of the stage decorations, and snuck backstage, behind the curtain. He pulled a keying out of his back pocket, twirling it around his finger.

He opened up the door to the drama club's prop room, and looked around. After a few seconds, his blue eyes locked on a bed. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket before sitting on the bed. Within the time he got to school, he had seventeen new voice mails and fifty-two text messages. He sighed and fell onto his back, scrolling through the texts.

"Hiroshi, Hiroshi, Marui, Mom, Dad, Dad, Hiroshi – tch." Niou sat up again, clicking out of his text messages and into his contacts. After a few seconds, he found the number he was looking for, and shoved the phone to his ear.

"Hello, Atobe Keigo speaking."

"What do you want? And how did you get this number?" Niou hissed.

Niou, being the son of a CEO of a software company, obviously had contacts in the upper circles of life. Many of the other "future leaders" were his "friends." Niou had known Atobe since they were six, and Niou still couldn't stand the guy. He was too uptight, and Niou hated uptight people, which was why he hated that mask Yagyuu wore.

"Niou," Atobe replied, "I assume you got my message."

"I didn't read it, but, yeah, I got it. Do you need something, because I'm kind of busy today?"

Atobe laughed dryly on the other side. "Not one to beat around the bush, eh? Same as always."

"And you still add 'sama' whenever addressing yourself. We're assholes. What do you want?"

Atobe was silent for a moment, as though he was contemplating hanging up. However, Atobe was persistent (just like his father), and skipped straight to the point: "My team and I have decided to hold a little get together in celebration of the New Year. I was wondering if I could count on your team attending."

"New Year's Eve?"

"Yes."

"No can do, Atobe. We're doing a team night to exchange gifts. You'll be getting a card. It sings 'Jingle Bell Rock' and has pictures of elves. Now, is that all you want? You usually ask Yukimura."

Atobe laughed again, and Niou wondered how the hell Hyotei's tennis team dealt with this guy. "Niou, Niou, Niou... You are smart, smarter than many give you credit for. Yes, there is more."

"Then spit it out, or swallow and shut up," Niou demanded. "Like I said, I'm busy."

Niou didn't add that he was sneaking away to take a nap when he got Atobe's message, but Atobe didn't need to know what.

"Sato Ree's birthday is in January. I was going to plan a surprise party, and I am trying to develop a head count."

Sato Ree, daughter of a famous lawyer known to work for the Atobe Corporation, as well as N-Ware from time to time. She graduated from Hyotei Senior High last year, third in her class. Niou wasn't sure what university she was attending, but he would bet it was some big name school.

Niou had met her for the first time at a black-and-white charity event over the summer. She made quite the scene, tossing red wine in Atobe's face because he said he expected her to wear a better dress – "At least I look better than you," she had said. Niou had laughed until he cried.

"You're seriously throwing that girl a party?" Niou snorted. "Are you trying to poison her with cake?"

"We have made amends," Atobe informed him, his voice low, dangerous, strained. Niou smirked; good to know he pissed Atobe off too. "Should I count on you attending?"

"I barely know her. Besides, my dad wants me to start attending meetings with him," Niou said, trying to snake his way out of some big rich kid party. While the party Atobe threw for Kabaji back in junior high was entertaining, that was a special case. Kabaji was Atobe's Yagyuu, the best friend that didn't care, that was always there.

"There are not meetings every day, Niou," Atobe reminded him. "If you're not interesting –"

"Call me back when you have a date, okay? God only knows I don't want to piss off a future lawyer."

"She's studying history and education. She has no intentions of following in her father's footsteps. Though, I wouldn't piss her off unless you want a glass of two thousand five hundred yen wine in your face."

"That – was – freaking – hilar – ious!" Atobe began some smart-ass response, but Niou didn't listen. His ears perked up like a cat's, his eyes locking on the handle of the prop room. Niou cut into Atobe's speech, not carrying if he pissed off Hyotei's captain: "Call me with that date. We'll talk then."

Niou hung up, and just in time. The second he ended the conversation, Yagyuu opened the door. The council president let out a sigh when he saw Niou sitting on the bed, turning off his phone (just because Niou knew Atobe would call back, and he didn't want to deal with that guy anymore).

"Niou-kun, you should go home and change."

"I brought my clothes in the car. Did I tell you I have yours?" Niou smirked, putting his phone in his pocket. "Oh, yeah, I did, in front of the whole gym. Sorry 'bout that."

"I'll pay you back for the clothes," Yagyuu promised.

"Dude, we're the same size and it's the normal crap – pants, shoes, and a button down. No biggie."

Yagyuu nodded. Niou frowned – Yagyuu always fought with Niou over paying him back; Yagyuu was too tired to even sigh at Niou's can-do attitude.

"I'm taking a nap. Do you want the key to the nurse's office so you can crash?" Niou asked.

Yagyu shook his head. "I need to finish setting up the audio with the DJ."

"Let someone else do it. It's nappy time." Niou set his phone on the cheap bed next to him, lying down. Even the lumps and broken springs felt good.

Yagyuu did sigh this, and Niou had a mental scoreboard in his head going: Hiroshi 0 – Me 37492. He figured it was something like that, since he couldn't count how many times he's made Yagyuu sigh. It was probably in the millions.

Yagyuu looked around the prop room after shutting the door, and spotted another bed shoved into the corner on the other side of the room.

.

Niou and Yagyuu only woke up when someone was banging on the door and shouting: "Yagyuu-senpai, Niou-senpai, are you in there? The dance has started!"

Yagyuu shot up, swearing loud enough to make Niou open his eyes. "What is it?" Niou mumbled, slowly sitting up. He looked at the door, saw it jiggling, and rolled out of the bed. "Coming, you impatient bastard..."

Niou opened the door, and Chishu nearly fell to the ground. Her face turned bright red, her hand stalling mid-knock. "The dance started," she said again.

Niou pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the time. He looked over his shoulder at Yagyuu. "'roshi, don't kill me. The dance started an hour ago."

Yagyuu appeared out of goddamn nowhere, grabbing Niou's phone out of his hand. Yagyuu swore mentally, and handed Niou his phone back. "Chishu-chan, thank you for finding us. Is everything running smoothly?"

"Yeah, pretty much." She paused. "Are you two planning on hiding out here all night, or do you have a change of clothes?"

"Hiroshi, to the Niou Mobile!" Niou shouted. Yagyuu shook his head, mumbling, "Niou-kun..."

Chishu moved aside, and Niou headed out of the prop room and towards the backstage exit. Yagyuu was a bit slower, stopping to say something to Chishu before following Niou.

"Planning a booty call?" Niou asked.

"Planning your murder."

"Touché, Hiroshi, tou-freaking-ché."

Yagyuu didn't respond, not that Niou gave him the chance. Niou sprinted towards the parking lot, pressing the 'lock door' button on his keys to make his car beep so he could located it. Changing in the parking lot certainly would be a first.

.

It was loud as anything, loud enough to force people to scream to make their voices sound like whispers. Niou had only been inside for twenty minutes, and he was pretty sure he popped an ear drum and would never be able to talk again. It was sweaty and gross on top of that. If Niou didn't understand dances before, he could barely comprehend them at that point.

Yagyuu had ditched and run off to do student council crap – counting money, checking IDs and tickets for late comers, and whatever else he was always so busy doing.

Niou stood in front of a fan that had been tucked in the corner. He was so hot his hair had begun to stick to his skin, and even after turning the fan on high, the wind wouldn't move a single strand. He unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt. His white shirt had turned a glowing blue under the lights, they were the same kinds used in clubs.

Someone tapped his shoulder, and Niou turned around. It was the girl from earlier, the one he butt-lifted to hang up lights. Niou looked over from head to toe. "You look good," he half-shouted, eyes landing on hers. "You know, you never answered my question: you want a date?"

She smiled and grabbed his wrist, pulling him towards the mob of people "dancing." It was more like dry humping, and it was gross. Niou was pretty sure he saw that girl Kirihara is always with dancing with her boyfriend, but he couldn't tell. Within one second of hitting the dance floor, the girl was pressed up right against him.

He wanted to actually dance, but this girl wanted in his pants. Perfect.

Niou somehow managed to get a little space between them before spinning her, getting her to dance a few inches away from her. She even used her arms instead of just her hips, even though she seemed to be the only one. He began to wonder if someone spiked the punch because this was just ridiculous.

The girl shouted, but Niou couldn't hear her. So Niou shouted "You're stepping on my feet!" and she just smiled and nodded. Niou smiled back. Oh, he was going to have a ball with this.

"I don't know your name!" Niou shouted. She smiled.

"I'm not wearing underwear!" Chest cha-cha wiggle thingamajig.

"I'm from outer space!" A nod.

"I was kicked out of the zoo for humping a tiger!" Another hip wiggle.

There was a pause after the song before the next one started. Niou didn't realize.

"I'm a robot without a penis!"

The girl he was dancing with froze mid-wiggle, and everyone who heard him scream at the top of his lungs (which was everyone), looked at him. Niou did a salute, and then headed off the dance floor, dancing as he did so.

Might as well go out with a little pride.

.

Niou once again found himself in front of the fan. He was panting like a dog, and his shirt was sticking to his skin. He felt like he was at practice, only people kept asking if he was the guy who said he was a robot without a penis.

During a slow song that wasn't ear-popping loud, he heard, "Hey, Niou-senpai."

Niou turned around, not bothering to hide his confusion when he saw Chishu. "What's up, Cupcake? Here to ask me about my penis?"

"So that was you?"

"Yeah. It was worth it." He pushed sweat dampened hair out of his eyes. "You need something?"

She hesitated before saying, "I can't find Yagyuu-senpai."

Niou let out a sigh of epic proportions. "I think I know where he is. The bastard can't take one day off."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story," he said vaguely. Then he began to walk away, but stopped before he was out of her hearing range. He turned around and said, "I'll tell him you said hi."

She smiled. "Thanks."

Niou nodded, and headed out of the gym and into the hallway. He walk by the girls who were complaining about their feet and past the guys who were sneaking shots of what one of them said was vodka (it was probably salt water with lemon). He jogged towards the stairs, quickly heading up to the student council room.

He knocked first, didn't hear another, and then fished his stolen key ring out of his back pocket. It was the most worn key on the ring, mostly because Yagyuu locked the door every time he went into the damn room. He stuck the key in the door, opening the door.

"Hiroshi, Cupcake said you're a sexy monster and she wants to take a ride on your disco stick," Niou announced. Then he spotted Yagyuu on the desk, arms folded, head rested on them. Niou closed the door behind him, heading over to the desk. He grabbed the folder out from Yagyuu's arms, skimming over the papers inside.

Numbers. The school budget, more specifically.

Niou grabbed a pen off the desk Yagyuu was at, and pulled a chair up, gently nudging Yagyuu's limbs away without waking him so he would have room to work.

* * *

**A/N: Yes, the winter dance I've been talking about since chapter 7 or so was extremely anti-climatic. Just like real dances. **

**Saywhat:** They're not gay. No one in this story is. Because the PoT series itself isn't realistic and the characters don't act like regular teenage boys do, it's hard to make a semi-realistic fic and keep them in character. Niou's personality does come on a bit strong in the last chapter; however, it was due to Naomi being introduced, and it was to show his relationship with the Yagyuu family.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18.**

If it rains cats and dogs, then it snows monkeys and lizards, Yukimura decided. He wrapped his arms tighter around himself, wishing X-treme was closer to a train station. A fifteen minute walk usually wasn't that bad. However, in a blizzard, it was bad. Especially during that after-Christmas rush, when people hurry to return gifts and replace it with something half-priced.

He wasn't wearing a heavy coat, snow was in his hair, and people kept bumping into him. He was miserable. Yukimura breathed into his hands, giving up. It was impossible to warm up with the snow coming down, so he cut to the side of the crowd, heading into Silly Lilies.

"Hello, welcome to Silly Lilies," Koga said, her back to Yukimura as she continued to wrap a bouquet for a young boy. The boy was rocking in place, checking the time every two seconds, and his fingers played with the sleeves of his coat. He was probably in junior high, most likely going on his first date.

Yukimura walked up to the counter as he brushed snow out of his hair. "Koga-chan," Yukimura said. Koga turned around, bouquet in hand – red roses with baby's breath. She smiled when she spotted Yukimura. Yukimura looked at the boy. "She'll love them."

The boy turned red, staring at the counter. Koga sighed. "Yukimura-senpai, don't tease the customers." She walked towards the counter, handing the boy the bouquet. When he went to hand her money, she didn't take it. "Are they really for a girl?"

He nodded a little too fast to be safe. "Y-yes, Koga-san."

Koga smiled at him, pulling her own wallet out of her apron. "My treat. Have fun."

The boy thanked her about a thousand times as she handed him the receipt. Once the boy had left, Yukimura said, "That was nice of you."

"He's a sweet kid. He kept calling me 'Koga-san' or 'Miss.' Besides, flowers are the way to a girl's heart. Then again, you already know that." Yukimura gave her a puzzled look. "Your mom and sister?"

"Right. I thought you were talking about the daisies."

Her ears turned pink; Yukimura grinned. Suddenly, Koga asked, "What can I help you with? Does your sister want some flowers for her vase?"

"I came in here to warm up, but that's a good idea," Yukimura said. "Do you have any calla lilies?"

"_Calla lilies?_ You told me you didn't know anything about vases or flowers," Koga said, thinking back to when he had bought the vase. "Everyone knows what lilies are, but calla lilies are pretty specific. Most people call them the 'tube things.'"

"I don't know anything about vases," he admitted, "but I do know about flowers."

"Liar, liar, pants on fire," Koga sang with a goofy smile on her face. "And yeah, we have calla lilies. What color?"

"Can I come back there and look?" Yukimura asked, glancing over her shoulder at the bins of flowers behind the counter. Bouquets were on display in the front, but each was handmade. Vases seemed to be the exception since they came with flowers.

Koga nodded with a sigh, walking towards the bins. She wasn't supposed to let customers behind the counter, but Yukimura was an exception. Yukimura was a lot of things.

Yukimura walked around the counter, joining her a second later. Each container had circular containers within that had different colors of the same flower.

"The dark red and the white are always pretty together," Koga said. She pulled one of each out, handing them to Yukimura.

"What about the black?" Yukimura asked. He reached into the bin, pulling a black lily. Koga put the red and white back, pulling out two more black ones.

"All black might be a bit harsh," she said, handing him the other two black lilies. Then she grabbed two white lilies, handing them to Yukimura. "I like it."

"Ditto." Yukimura smiled at her, and said, "I hope she does."

Koga took the lilies from him, asking, "How many?"

"A dozen, I suppose, six of each."

"Okay." She began to gather the flowers, stopping suddenly. "Huh, Senpai, could you go to the other side of the counter?"

Yukimura headed around the counter, pulling his phone out of his pocket as Koga wrapped the lilies. He hit a speed dial, pressing the phone to his ear. After a few seconds, he heard: "X-treme, Yukimura Iwao speaking."

"Hey, Dad, it's me," Yukimura said. "I made a little detour. I bought Emiko some flowers for her vase."

"Did you get the tube ones?"

"Yeah, I got the tube ones." Yukimura heard Koga snicker. "Hey, Dad, I'm going to stop by the book story to pick up a book Renji suggested. I thought I might stop by the café since it's close by. I'll bring you and Emiko some hot chocolate, if you want."

"Yes, I want."

Yukimura laughed. "Alright. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Dad."

"See you soon, Seiichi. Don't freeze to death."

Yukimura hung up, slipping his phone into his pocket in exchange for his wallet. Koga was pressing some buttons on the cash register, cradling the bouquet in her arms. "That will be... three thousand five hundred."

Yukimura handed her a few bills and took the receipt, slipping the change she gave him in the tip jar. Yukimura took the flowers, realizing she wrapped the plastic a little higher due to the snow. "Thank you, Koga-chan."

"No problem, Yukimura-senpai."

Yukimura turned and began to leave, saying, "Happy early New Year's," over his shoulder.

Koga smiled.

.

Yukimura stumbled into X-treme an hour after leaving Silly Lilies. The store was packed with teenagers and university students returning a gift they had gotten for something else. Yukimura held the flowers under his arm, a bag of books in one hand, and had two cups of hot chocolate in his other hand, one stacked on the other. He shoved his way through the crowd, making sure not to spill a boiling hot beverage on someone. That was a lawsuit waiting to happen, or a free baseball. One or the other.

"Dad," Yukimura shouted, walking behind the counter. Emiko was at one cash register, his father at the other.

His father looked over and smiled, turning to the customer he was ringing up. "One second," he said to the customer, rushing over to his son. He took a cup of hot chocolate from him as he said, "Genichriou is in the back room."

Yukimura nodded, and his father apparently thought that meant it was alright to go back to the register. Yukimura grinned at his father's, "Sorry, Seiichi, I still love you, but they have money!" Yukimura headed over towards Emiko next, handing her her hot chocolate and the bouquet.

"Calla lilies?" She smelled them, and then handed them back to Yukimura. "Could you put them in the back room? Oh, and thanks for the hot chocolate."

Yukimura nodded, suddenly feeling like a dog. Though, he understood that his father and sister were busy with the shop. Before heading into the back room, Yukimura told his sister to come get him and Sanada if they needed any help.

When Yukimura got to the back room (after several loud swears as he pushed through people), he found Sanada was dead asleep on the daybed, cap covering his face. Yukimura set his bag of books on a table, and Emiko's lilies on top. They would be okay without water for a few more hours.

"Genchirou," Yukimura muttered. He pulled a ponta out of the refrigerator, and then squatted next to the daybed. He pulled Sanada's hat off his face, hitting him with it.

Sanada opened his eyes, letting out a groggily "what?" as he ripped his hat out of Yukimura's hand.

Yukimura stood up and moved to the sofa. "You alright?"

"Tired," Sanada mumbled, putting his hat back over his eyes. "I've been helping out at the dojo all break. My father has me teaching classes with my brother."

"Have you been teaching newbies or the good guys?"

"Good guys."

Yukimura opened his soda and winced for Sanada. The "good guys" at the Sanada dojo usually had ten awards to their name and could knock down a tree. Well, perhaps not a tree, but something of the sort.

"Is that all?" Yukimura asked, casting a look at Sanada. It was _the_ Yukimura look, the one that meant something was up and he knew and you were screwed. He took a sip of his soda when Sanada didn't say anything. "Genchirou, is everything alright at home?"

Sanada sat up and tossed his hat to the side, running a hand through his hair. "Seiichi, everything is fine. It's great. My parents are great. My brother and I are getting along. Everything's great."

"You hate the word 'great.' Something's up."

"It's just – well – " Sanada sighed, struggling to find the words. Sanada was never good with feelings. Though Sanada did open up more around his close friends, mainly Yukimura and Yanagi, he still didn't feel comfortable talking about everything. Sanada was just that person. After some time, Sanada asked, "Have I been acting different lately?"

Yukimura took another sip of his soda. "Not particularly. Does someone else think you've been acting differently?"

"I've been thinking that," Sanada admitted. He lied back down. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"Obviously it isn't not 'nothing,'" Yukimura said. "What is it, Genchirou?"

"I'm fine, Seiichi."

Yukimura wasn't going to go as far as to ask "how are you feeling?" because he was a man, and no matter how close he was to another man, he would never get over the fact that that question was downright awkward. To ask a girl is one thing, but a guy? That was just... strange.

So, when Sanada didn't want to answer, Yukimura didn't invade. At least, not yet.

.

When Emiko came into the back room, Sanada was asleep again and Yukimura was lying down on the sofa, holding one of his new books in the air so he could read.

"Seiichi, you can do anything lying down," she said, heading over to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water and then collapsed into a bean bag. "Dad said he's gonna order pizza. Do you and Sanada want anything?"

"Genchirou, pizza?" Yukimura reached behind his back with his free hand and, without looking, tossed a pillow right onto Sanada's face. Sanada sat up, looking around, startled beyond words. Emiko giggled. Yukimura repeated the question: "Genchirou, pizza?"

Sanada sighed. "Seiichi, have you ever tried just calling my name to wake me up? I swear, every time I fall asleep around you, I have something thrown at my head or an air horn going off in my ear."

Yukimura smiled into his book. "Yes, I apologize for making your life interesting and honing your ninja skills, which you need major help in. A true ninja would have caught that pillow."

"Sanada, do you want any pizza?" Emiko asked before she had to witness her brother being killed.

"I wouldn't mind a slice or two, though I can pay –"

"Dad said you're not paying," Emiko cut in. "We're getting cheese and pineapple, is that okay with you? I think we might get some breadsticks, too."

Sanada nodded, and Emiko got up, unscrewing her water bottle as she left the room. Once the door closed, Sanada looked at Yukimura. "If I go back to sleep, will you wake me up like a sane person when the pizza arrives?"

"I can't make any promises," Yukimura teased, turning the page.

Sanada decided to lie back down, figuring he would take his chances. He was tired, so very, very tired.

* * *

**A/N: I have no comments, but I feel obligated to write something. So interest something catchy/funny/important/stupid here. Thanks.**

**Anonymous:** This story is long, so it's always a possibility Niou will enter a relationship; however, given his character, it is unlikely that it would be something serious. Still, it's possible.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19.**

Emiko and Yukimura were sitting at the table in the kitchen. Between bites of Lucky Charms, Emiko picked up a pair of scissors and curled ribbon, which Yukimura attached to the small boxes he was wrapping. He had bought his teammates presents weeks ago (water bottles with filtering caps), but never got around to wrapping them until the morning of the gift exchange, New Year's Eve.

Tape was sticking to the edges to the table, Emiko had spilled milk at one point or another, Yukimura kept ripping the paper, and the ribbons weren't cooperating when Yukimura tried to tape them onto the boxes.

"Done!" Emiko announced, tossing the last curled ribbon at her brother. She grabbed her bowl of cereal, shoveling a spoonful into her mouth. "Ben mar juu hoing?"

"Seiichi is hoe-ing who?" their father asked, walking into the kitchen.

Emiko giggled. Yukimura sighed. "Dad, she asked when I'm going to Renji's to do the gift exchange."

"It sounded like she was asking who you were hoe-ing," their father said.

"You try _way_ too hard to be cool, Dad," Emiko mumbled.

Their father looked like the Joker with that smile. "So I'm cool? It's about time!"

Emiko and Yukimura groaned "Daaaaad" in unison. After years of practice, they had it down to the same second it seemed.

"So, are you two spending midnight with anyone special?" Their dad wiggled their eyebrows as he sat down. He continued before they could groan again. "It's Dad Law. I'm allowed to ask who my children will be smooching."

Yukimura shook his head with a grin. Emiko rolled her eyes, turning red.

.

Yukimura opted to walk to Yanagi's apartment, knowing everyone would take the trains because of the small amount of snow that remained on the ground. People see a little fluffy water and they freak out. Yukimura never understood it.

Eventually, Yukimura made it to the apartment complex Yanagi lived it. He headed up a flight of stairs and then down a small hallway. He shifted his bags into one hand to knock on the door. Moments later, Yanagi opened the door.

"We're in the living room," Yanagi said, moving aside to Yukimura could come in. "Also, we will be ordering pizza later."

"Are your parents here?"

"Should it matter?"

"No, just curious," Yukimura admitted. "Are they?"

"No, they're visiting my aunt. It was last minute and I don't feel the least bit guilty," Yanagi said. He didn't particularly like his aunt. She liked to try and cut his hair.

Yukimura traveled the rather large apartment with skill, knowing every closet and room like the back of his hand. (Except Yanagi's parents' and sister's room because that'd be weird.) Sanada was sitting on the sofa, watching a movie with a bored expression. Yukimura set his bags down next to the sofa, plopping down right next to Sanada. Yanagi came in a moment later, sitting next to Yukimura.

They watched the movie without saying anything. None of them particularly liked movie-talkers. However, Yukimura wouldn't stop humming. It wouldn't be a problem, if he hadn't been humming so loudly. Eventually, Sanada had enough.

"Will you stop?" he asked. Yukimura turned his head, clicked his tongue, started humming again, and went back to the movie. Two minutes later, Sanada asked again: "Seiichi, will you cut it out? I think you're celebrating the New Year a little early."

"Are you implying I'm drunk?" Yukimura asked. Sanada looked confused. "I'm not humping a piano like Niou, am I? No. _Exactly._ I'm not drunk."

"I never said you were drunk," Sanada said. "More people know that you don't drink than they do that Marui's hair is naturally that shade of red."

"His hair is seriously ember red?" Yukimura asked.

"Ember red?" Yanagi questioned. "Have you been browsing for new hair colors again, Seiichi? Do I need to remind you the time your hair turned green, not blue, two years ago, and you refused to come to school until you could re-dye it?"

Yukimura sunk into the seat. At his silence, everyone dropped the conversation.

Then Yukimura began to hum again.

"Seiichi," Sanada groaned.

Yukimura couldn't stop laughing. Sanada-bullying was his favorite past-time.

Yanagi was just upset that is ear plugs were in his room. While he did love Sanada and Yukimura dearly, they were obnoxiously loud (and always during the best part of the movie).

.

Kirihara showed up an hour after Yukimura. It was strange, considering Kirihara was usually the last to arrive. Yanagi mentioned something about Niou picking up Marui, Jackal and Yagyuu and the possibility of a car accident being in the oh-crap-high percentile.

Yanagi opened the door, frowning when he saw Kirihara. The young boy was wearing sweat pants and an unzipped coat that showed a worn out sleep shirt. "Akaya, did you just wake up?"

"My sister's home from university-_yyyyy_ –" Kirihara stopped to cover his hand as he yawned. He licked his lips, wiping the bit of spit that got on his hand on his pants. "She didn't wake me up like she had promised."

Kirihara stumbled inside when Yanagi moved aside, setting his bags down next to Yukimura's. He collapsed onto the sofa between Sanada and Yukimura, resting his head on Sanada's shoulder. Sanada visibly stiffened.

Yanagi snuck into his bedroom to get his ear plugs before re-entering the room to continue the movie.

.

The bell rang just as Sanada finished pushing Kirihara off of him, saying, "He drools, Seiichi. Watch out."

Yukimura jumped at the sound of the bell, sticking his tongue out at Sanada, who once again became Kirihara's pillow. Yukimura rushed to the door, Yanagi right behind him, hearing his friends before seeing them. When he opened the door, he was shoved aside by Marui, who was yelling over his shoulder at Niou.

"Fix it yourself!" Marui snapped.

Niou called Marui something that Yanagi didn't quite know the meaning of.

Yanagi sighed, turning to Jackal and Yagyuu, who were carrying in their own bags, as well as their partners'. "Why is it that everyone feels the need to fight?" Yanagi asked.

Niou whipped his head around, eyes narrowed. "You should know, Mr. Data Master."

"Aliens took over Japan while I was in London and I'm the only non-possessed, sane human being remaining?" Yanagi asked.

"How was London, Yanagi? Interesting?" Yagyuu asked, closing the door because no one else appeared to have thought to do so.

"No changing the subject!" Niou shouted. He looked at Marui. "You spilled that crap you call coffee all over my car! You're paying!"

"You have money coming out of your ass," Marui said. "It's unfair! I'm broke, you know that!"

Niou stormed into the living room loud enough to wake Kirihara up. The younger boy looked at Sanada, who looked like he would commit mass murder within the second. Kirihara scooted to the other side of the sofa. Marui was yelling even louder than before. Yukimura sat back down on the sofa, completely blocking out his friends to continue the movie.

Jackal and Yagyuu joined Yanagi into the kitchen, listening to the Data Master's London adventure.

.

Yanagi wasn't sure who ordered the pizza, but it arrived shortly after Niou and the others showed up. Yanagi paid with money his parents had left him, and carried the boxes into the room. He felt like a gazelle in a room of hungry lions. He set the pizzas down on the table and considered counting his fingers when Niou, Marui and Kirihara pounced towards the boxes.

"Do you three eat at all today?" Yagyuu asked, pulling a piece out of the box.

Niou shrugged. He was almost done with one piece of pizza in twelve seconds. That had to be a new record. "I'm hungry."

"You just spent the last twenty minutes yelling at Marui over spilled milk," Yukimura said.

"Coffee," Niou corrected. Yukimura glared. Niou grabbed his second piece.

.

Niou quickly learned that eating seven pieces of pizza in five minutes was not a good idea. He rolled onto his side, glaring at Marui, who was still eating and not painfully full.

"Worth it?" Jackal asked.

Niou nodded and groaned. "Pizza's always worth it, Jackal."

"And sex," Marui added. "Sex is always worth it."

"So says the virgin," Niou snorted. He felt like his stomach had staples in it.

"We're all virgins," Jackal mumbled. Marui sunk into his seat, saying something along the lines that everyone knew what he meant.

Yanagi put in another movie, hoping they would all just shut up. Sometimes, he wondered why he was friends with these people. Shortly after wondering that, he remembered he enjoyed those crazy people. Perhaps he wasn't quite sane after all.

.

The gift exchange started half way through the movie. Yanagi paused it with a mental sigh. His teammates were going to get loud again.

Yukimura handed out the water bottles he had gotten everyone, smiling when Sanada realized his cap was the only pink one.

Yanagi had bought everyone something from London – Sanada a flag, Yukimura a few pictures, Niou a mug that read "Kiss my ass" in English, and other doodads for everyone else.

Sanada chose the more standard approach, giving everyone gift cards to X-treme, which Yukimura's father game him for free. Yukimura didn't get one – he got everything for free at the shop anyways.

Niou gave everyone sweatshirts with headphones for the strings. Marui once again pointed out that he was rich if he could afford seven of these, and was perfectly capable to pay for the damages to his car.

Yagyuu had bought everyone gift cards to Sweet Treats, wondering if giving his teammates more sugar was a good idea. Probably not.

Kirihara had gotten everyone phone straps, which he did every year. This year, they had little Rikkaidai R's dangling from them.

As Jackal searched through his duffle bag for his gifts, Yagyuu headed into the kitchen to get more soda. Niou grabbed an envelope out of his bag and followed him.

"Hiroshi," Niou said once they were in the kitchen and out of hearing range. "Here."

Yagyuu took the envelope, quickly opening it. He frowned when he saw a large amount of bills inside. He handed the envelope back out for Niou to take it, but Niou wouldn't. "I can't accept this, Niou-kun."

"Just take it," Niou insisted. "I don't need it. My parents agreed that this was our family gift to you. Didn't you wonder why I didn't stop by with gifts for you and Naomi this year?"

Yagyuu had thought of that. Every year, ever since Niou realized Yagyuu's family situation was far from perfect, Niou and his siblings (and sometimes his parents) would show up at Yagyuu's house the day after Christmas to give them gifts. Yagyuu was rather relived when Naomi didn't say anything when Niou didn't show up this year.

"Still," Yagyuu continued, "I can't possibly take this much. This is so much more than just a doll house and a new racquet, Niou-kun."

"I'm not stupid," Niou said. "Just take it. You'll get mad at me if you find out why I'm being so damn persistent!"

"Why are you being so damn persistent?"

"Because I'm not stupid, Hiroshi," Niou hissed through his teeth. He looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was in the arch way, and then back at his partner. "You keep telling me your mom is at therapy, that she just forgets to do things, and that your parents fight. Did you really expect me to believe that? I know she left when your dad started drinking again!"

Yagyuu was silent.

Niou took in a deep breath, heading towards the refrigerator to get more soda. "Just take the damn money."

Yagyuu licked his lips and folded the envelope in half. He stuck it in his back pocket. He walked towards the fridge and reached around Niou, grabbing a bottle of soda. He was too proud to thank Niou, and Niou knew that, so it was okay.

.

"Now, time to read the cards from the jerks whose asses we shall be kicking in several months," Yukimura Anounced, holding up cards which he practically pulled out of nowhere. Niou, Marui and Kirihara each snapped a card from Yukimura's hand. It was somewhat a tradition of theirs to read the cards out loud to mock the other teams. It was cruel, but funny.

"From Atobe and the Hyotei Douches," Niou read.

"That's not what it says," Yagyuu said before Niou couldn't continue.

"Fine. From Atobe and his Bitches," Niou offered, grinning at Yagyuu, who shook his head. Niou ignored it and continued. "'Best wishes, Atobe, Oshitari, Akutagawa, Mukahi, Shishido, Ohtori, Hiyoshi, and Kabaji.'"

"Is that all they wrote?" Marui asked. Niou nodded. "Assholes! At least our card to them sang."

"And had little dancing elves," Niou reminded them, tossing the card behind his back without a second thought. "Stuck up –"

"NIOU!" Sanada snapped, knowing whatever Niou was going to say would not be pleasant. Niou didn't have a high opinion of Hyotei, especially Atobe.

"Me next! I got the Shitenhouji freaks!" Kirihara shouted. Within a second, Niou and Marui were rolling on the floor laughing, mumbling about elves and Yukimura, tears forming in their eyes.

"Wait a second, Akaya," Yukimura said, somewhat in a panic. "Renji, did we send Shitenhouji a card this year?"

Last year they had forgotten to send them a card, and as revenge Hitouji, Konjiki and Tooyama came dressed as elves to one of Rikkaidai's practices. During their little visit, Hitouji and Konjiki harassed Yukimura to no end, saying he would make a very, _very_ pretty elf. The whole thing was more disturbing than funny (to Yukimura).

Yanagi nodded. "Yes, Seiichi. I sent a card when I realized you hadn't."

Relief washed over Yukimura's face.

"Okay, I'm reading!" Kirihara announced. "'Have a fantastic year! See you in the tournaments! LOL, Chitose, Oshitari, Shirashi, Koishikawa, Ishida, Hitouji, Konjiki, Zaizen and Tooyama. PS: It was Kintarou's idea to write LOL. He sometimes forgets it means laugh out loud as well as lots of love. We were by no means referring to the elf incident (until now, LOL) – Chitose.'"

"Pretty elf," Marui muttered as he wiped tears out of his eyes. Niou snorted.

"Will you stop laughing?" Yukimura snapped. "Read the card, Marui, before I send you and Niou to Shintenhouji as pretty elves!"

"Read the damn card!" Niou shouted. The idea of going over a "pretty elf" brought upon images he did not want in his head, most of which involved the close relationship of Hitouji and Konjiki.

Marui grabbed the card that he had dropped in his fit of laughter and opened it frantically. His images weren't much better than Niou's. "'Happy holidays! Best of luck in the following year! Sincerely, Tachibana, Kamio, Ibu, Ishida, Mori, Uchimura, and Sakurai.'"

Marui tossed the card to the side, as though Yukimura had rigged it to blow up if he hadn't.

"From our 'friends' at Seigaku," Yukimura said, trying to change the subject to something they mutually disliked. (When in doubt of a mutually disliked subject at Rikkaidai, they picked Seigaku.) Yukimura opened the card and voices came out. "It's recorded. Whoop-de-frekain'-doo."

"_Happy holidays from –"_

"_Tezuka –"_

"_Fuji –"_

"_Inui –"_

"_Eiji –"_

"_Momo –"_

"_Kaidoh –"_

"_Arai –"_

"_And Echizen."_

The recording stopped, and the team stared. Yukimura closed the card and opened it around, listening closely at the end. He repeated this three more times. "Renji, when did Echizen come back from America?"

"I wasn't aware he was back," Yanagi said. "Sadaharu said there was nothing new when I called the other day. Perhaps it is only for the holiday season? He does have family here in Japan..."

"Who wants to call someone from Seigaku?" Jackal asked in a way that made it sound like torture.

"I'll check," Kirihara said as he stood up. He rushed into the kitchen, leaving his silent teammates behind. He pulled his phone out of his sweatpants' pocket and dialed a number he knew by heart. Tachibana An's.

The rings seemed to go on forever, but, eventually, he heard: "Akaya, what's wrong? Is everyone okay?"

"I call and you immediately assume something's wrong? I can't I just call to say hello?" he asked with a bit of bitterness in his voice. It made sense that she would assume that. They hadn't talked in six months and twenty-two days (not that he was counting).

"Hi?" she offered.

"Hi." He smiled. Then he remembered she was his ex-girlfriend. He wiped the smile off his face.

"So, is everyone okay?"

"Yes. I just called to ask if it's true." She didn't say anything. Kirihara sighed. "An, is it true that Echizen's back?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you're dating that mother fuc –" He took in a deep breath and stopped himself from saying something he would regret. (Though, he was tempted to call her boyfriend every swear Niou had taught him over the years.) "Because you're dating Momoshiro. I figured you would know."

Kirihara could hear people in the background. He would have bet his life that she was probably at Momoshiro's house, or at Kawamura's Sushi, partying it up with Fudomine and Seigaku.

"He transferred back a month ago, and he's staying this time. No more cross-world trips. He withdrew all of his applications for American tournaments." She paused. "Listen, Akaya, I'm at Takeshi's and –"

Kirihara hung up and put his phone back in his pocket. He could feel it vibrating, and he knew it was An calling him back. He rubbed the heel of his palms against his eyes, and then headed back into the room. He wasn't sure whether he was more upset that An was spending time with Momoshiro, or about Echizen coming back.

"What's the deal?" Marui asked.

Kirihara sat back down, looking at Yukimura. "Buchou, Echizen's back."

An eerie silence fell over them. It was obvious that everyone was on edge. They all knew what Echizen coming back meant, trouble for their third consecutive win at nationals. The title was within their grasp, but with Echizen back it seemed so far away.

It was what they were working so hard for. It was more important than it was back in junior high. This was their last tournament (well, not Kirihara's) and the thought of Echizen screwing that up was unbearable.

"So," Niou said after awhile, looking around at his teammates, an evil smirk on his lips, "who says we ice Seigaku's courts as a little welcome home present?"

Marui and Kirihara grinned as they yelled, "Hell yeah!"

"No," Yukimura said, dismissing the idea. "We're not doing anything besides beating them in a few months."

"We'll win if we can break a collarbone," Niou pointed out. Kirihara was secretly hoping Momoshiro would rush onto the courts and fall, and Niou's words made him want to put ice on those courts as quickly as possible. "I mean, it's cold enough that the ice wouldn't melt, and –"

"No," Yukimura said again. "We're going to watch the damn ball break at midnight, and then –"

"Ice the courts?"

"NIOU!" Sanada yelled. "Stop this!"

"I was only kidding," Niou said, his voice dropping a bit more than usual. It wasn't the octave he lied in. It was the octave that meant he was serious. "Pull that stick out of your ass, Sanada."

"Seiichi," Sanada sighed. "What should we do?"

Yukimura picked up where he was cut off: "And then we'll worry about what we're doing when break is over."

"If that's the case," Kirihara began, "can we watch a zombie movie? I need to see some heads ripped off."

"I say we watch Elf," Niou said.

When Yukimura picked up a pillow, Yanagi put his ear plugs back in.

.

They pulled up a countdown ten minutes before midnight. Kirihara was on a sugar high and bouncing off the walls, unable to sit still for two seconds. Sanada was half-asleep, and would have been completely asleep if Yukimura didn't poke him every few minutes. Niou and Marui were making hushed plans to sneak out and go to Seigaku, though both of them knew they never actually would.

"New Year's resolutions?" Yanagi asked curiously.

"I want to do whatever I want to do," Marui said. It was his standard resolution, which kept him from naming any specific. Marui was the opposite of Niou. Niou liked being in control. Marui hated being in control.

"I would love to ice Seigaku's –" Niou stopped when Sanada woke up just enough to glare. "To pull a senior prank that no one will ever forget."

"Just don't get suspended," Yukimura said. "Mine's to ask her out."

"Her being _who_?" Marui asked.

"A female. Genchirou, resolutions?" Yukimura asked, poking Sanada again.

"Sleep."

Yanagi smiled. "Mine are to attend Tokyo University in the fall."

"That's right. We get university acceptance letters in January," Jackal mumbled. "Oh, and mine's to – err – I don't know. To figure out just what I'm doing after high school."

"I wouldn't mind having a normal year," Yagyuu said.

"I want to win Nationals," Kirihara said. "It's going to be hard this –"

"Tennis later. We're not worrying about that now," Yukimura reminded him. He glanced at the TV and sighed. "Eight minutes until the countdown. What're we going to do?"

.

They talked about nothing in particular, waiting for the final countdown of the breaking-of-the-ball. It was their tradition to countdown. So when the clock reached fifteen seconds, they all shut up, staring at the screen.

"Ten."

"Sixty-_nine_."

"Eiiiight."

"Seven."

"Six."

"Five."

"Four. Four. Four. Four."

"Three."

The ball broke.

"Twooo."

"One!" they shouted.

Like every year, they were a bit off, but they still laughed anyways. It was the end of a year, and the start of a new one that could be anything they wanted.

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter was a little crackier than the others. I feel like the regulars together is the reason why this story has "chaos" in the title. Fear not, the story becomes boring once more next chapter. **

**Fun fact: I finished my last day of school on Thursday. I am now officially a senior. Go me.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20.**

Niou honestly didn't mind school. He could lie about being the heir to a company that competed with Atobe Corp, pull his pranks and laugh his ass off with his friends, and pass his classes with little trouble. The one thing he didn't like about school was that he couldn't drive, which meant taking the train, which meant walking from his house to the train station. That walk was hell in the middle of winter, plain and simple.

Niou stuffed his hands into his pockets as he scrunched up his shoulders to warm up his neck. He didn't understand how humans survived the Ice Age. He was wearing a wife-beater (AKA: a man bra), a long sleeved shirt, his school button up, his school jacket, his scarf, and gloves, yet he was still willing to bet every penny Atobe Keigo owned that his nipples were getting frostbite.

"Why the hell do men even have nipples anyways?" Niou murmured to himself. Unlike other students, he had to walk alone. Most kids with money attended Hyotei. His brother was enrolled in Hyotei junior high and his sister in the university. He chose Rikkaidai because he's a rebel. Or an idiot. Possibly both.

As Niou approached the train station, he felt his phone vibrate against his hand in his pocket. He pulled it out, putting it to his ear without looking at who was calling. It was probably Marui, complaining that Suzuki was sick and he had to wake up by himself like a big boy.

"What do you want?"

There was laughter on the other end, and Niou screwed his eyes shut. "You should learn to check your caller ID. It was invented for a reason."

"Shut up, Atobe," Niou snapped. "What do you want?"

"You told me to call you when I set a date for Sato Ree's surprise birthday party. She has cleared the date, no meetings are to be held that day, and I called your school to make sure Yukimura hadn't scheduled a late practice. There is a downside: it's on a school night. But that's not really a problem. It should be over around midnight anyways."

"Wait a flipping-hairy-monkey-ball second. You told her that you're throwing her a party?"

"Of course not. I told her to meet me at my house for coffee so we could discuss your birthday party. It would be quite inconvenient if I went through the trouble of setting up an event of this scale only to have her not show up."

Niou felt his eye twitch. "My birthday was last month."

"Must have slipped my mind. I do apologize for not sending my best wishes." Niou really wanted to kick that guy in the balls. Of course, dying Atobe's hair yellow the day before a tournament and writing 'Rikkaidai' on his forehead in permanent marker would much more entertaining. "So, could you attend?"

"When is it?" _Moron_, Niou added mentally.

"The sixteenth at eight. It's not her real birthday, but it's close enough. It's formal, which means a tuxedo. A black tuxedo, not green, not blue, _black_."

"I get it, I get it. Black." Niou sighed. He didn't even know this girl. "Do you have any idea what this girl likes?"

"She's a history major," Atobe said, as he himself hadn't even the idea of a present much thought. "Remember, Niou, when in doubt, fall back onto the standard gifts."

Standard gifts meaning jewelry, spa visits, and envelopes of money.

"Is that all?" Niou asked. "I'm close to the train station, and I don't get very good signal in there."

"I'm assuming your team got a recorded card from our favorite team of brats."

"I'm aware that that no-ball, spineless wimp is back. Also, in case you're confused, I don't mean you. Oh, and I need to go. Ciao, bitch."

Niou hung up, and he could just picture Atobe glaring at his phone. He slipped it into his pocket, knowing Atobe was too damn proud to call him back. He headed into the train station, and couldn't help himself from smiling.

.

The walk to school from the train station wasn't nearly as bad as the first walk was. He was still freezing and would do anything (well, maybe not anything) for a cup of a coffee and a sunny beach. He hurried into the school, the heat engulfing him like a second skin.

He headed over to his cubby, grinning when he passed Suzuki and Ito, who were fighting. He was just waiting for the day that the two would get their heads together and jump each other. He pulled off his gloves, thoughts shifting when he saw Marui taking off his shoes.

"Hey," Niou said, taking off his shoes as he walked. He stopped next to Marui, his cubby neighbor, and exchanged his shoes. "What's up?"

"I barely woke up this morning, even with Akira shouting in my face," Marui said. "I hate the first day back from break. I always forget to do something. This time it was that research paper."

Niou had slipped on his new shoes at some point, and honestly wasn't that interesting in what Marui had to say. He began to walk away. "Well, that sucks, but I need to run. I'll catch up with you and Ms. Sexual Tension in class."

"Sweet Treats after school?" Marui shouted. "Akira has softball and tennis doesn't start up for a week or something. Jackal's coming."

"Sure."

"Invite Yagyuu!"

Niou gave Marui a thumbs-up, and jogged up the stairs, making his way towards the student council room.

.

When Niou reached out to knock on the door, someone else n the other side opened it. He blinked, and then smirked. "Hey, Cupcake. How was your break?"

Chishu smiled. "Hello, Senpai. It was fine. Yours?"

Niou shrugged, moving so she could exit. "Alright. Is Hiroshi in there?"

She nodded with a slight frown. "He's sleeping, though. I just came to drop off a few papers."

"Love note?"

"Good-bye, Senpai." She walked past Niou, heading in the direction Niou had just come in.

Niou entered the student council room, closing the door behind him. He set his bag on a desk, and began to strip out of his many layers until he was wearing the standard uniform. He tossed his coat and scarf onto another desk, and then made his way to where Yagyuu was sitting.

Niou shifted the papers on the larger desk around, and then sat down. He balled his hand into a fist before gently tapping Yagyuu on the back of his head with his knuckles.

"Wake up, Hiroshi. You missed your booty call."

Yagyuu lifted his head, fixing his glasses. He looked at the desk, spotted a manila folder, and set his head back down. "Chishu just left the papers with the winter dance budget and profit."

"How was the rest of your break?" Niou asked. Only two days had passed since the party, but he figured it was polite to ask.

Yagyuu gave what must have been a shrug. "Fine, I suppose. My mother called."

"And?"

"I didn't let Naomi talk to her. She said she wanted to pick up a few things she left behind. She didn't even ask us how we were." Yagyuu lifted his head again, rubbing his eyes under his glasses. Niou didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. Yagyuu forced himself to smile. "I'm fine, Niou-kun. I'm simply suffering from after-break-fatigue like everyone else."

Niou nodded – Yagyuu was lying, but he didn't call him out on it. "So, apparently Marui and Jackal are going to Sweet Treats after school. They said we could come."

"Naomi is staying at a friend's after school. I'm supposed to pick her up after dinner... She'll probably need help with her homework, though. She's been falling behind... And I need to get my homework done so I have time to attend the next student council meeting. It'd be – "

"You're going," Niou cut in. Yagyuu gave him _that_ look, the one that made Niou feel like the worst person in the world. Niou sighed. "Dude, don't make me sound like a chick. Just come, drink a damn smoothie, and then go get your sister. If you're seriously that worried about your grades and student council, do your homework while we're there. At least pretend you're having fun, for Naomi's sake. I've told you before: she likes to see you smile."

Yagyuu hesitated then nodded. "You should get to class."

Niou jumped off the desk and stuck his tongue out at Yagyuu. "Just because you're the president doesn't mean you get to skip, 'roshi."

"I'm not skipping. I'm doing work."

"Since when is sleep work?" Niou grabbed his bag, making a beeline for the exit. When he reached the door, he said, "I'll meet you in the lobby after school, 'kay?"

Yagyuu nodded. "Have fun in class, Niou-kun."

"Screw you, Hiroshi. Screw. You."

Yet, Niou was smiling when he closed the door.

.

When Niou got to his homeroom, he quickly spotted Suzuki and Marui talking about something or another, most likely their winter breaks. Niou headed over, sitting down next to them.

"Oh, hey, Niou, how was your break?" Suzuki asked.

"Alright. I spent most of it with my family, except for New Year's," Niou said. He didn't particularly like Christmas in his family. It involved his mother getting drunk on eggnog and singing (badly), his older sister putting a Santa hat on him, his younger brother breaking something with one of his new gadgets, and his father turning his mother's solo into a duet. It was the stuff people saw on comedic TV shows.

Suzuki nodded and turned back to Marui, obviously satisfied with his answer. "My mom said thanks for the fudge." She grinned, as did Marui, most likely at something that happened at their families' get-together.

Niou began to pull his textbooks out of his bag, regretting not skipping with Yagyuu.

.

Marui wasn't the only one who forgot to write the essay. About half the class had forgotten. Marui had poked Suzuki on the shoulder, asking why she hadn't reminded him; Suzuki turned around, practically biting Marui's head off – "Don't you dare blame me, Bunta! I told you to type it. The fudge is no excuse!"

The rest of the morning seemed boring compared to that. Their teacher handed back a chemistry test which they had taken before break, scolding the class for not doing better. Apparently, the teacher had forgotten about Marui, who received back a perfect paper. Niou couldn't be bother by the red slashes across his paper, where he had mixed up compounds and units; he spent most of his time trying to figure out what was so funny about fudge. None of his ideas seemed reasonable however.

When the lunch bell rang, Niou was half tempted to sprint out of that room and find Yagyuu. Niou was beginning to feel like he was in a relationship and was taking the role of the clingy girlfriend.

"So what were you and Ito fighting about this morning?" Marui asked. He reached across to her desk, grabbing a piece of sushi. He hadn't packed a lunch, and had forgotten to stop by the Corner Market in his hurry to get to school on time with Suzuki.

She shrugged, poking at a particularly poorly wrapped piece with a chopstick. "We decided to do joint practices the rest of the year – it's the only way we can get enough field time."

"I can't believe you guys are practicing today," Marui said. "It's ridiculous!"

"We're not going out. It's just for starters – err, regulars, I think you guys call them." She took their nods as them understanding. "We're just double checking positions and getting jersey sizes so we can place an order."

"Can't your starters change?" Niou asked. He poked at his own bento, but didn't seem interested in it.

"The last chance for the lineup to change would be a month before the tournaments. Even then there's enough time. We just get a discount if we get it done early." She shrugged again.

And then their conversations became boring again.

.

The end of the day couldn't have come any sooner. The second the bell rang, it seemed as though half the class was out the room. Niou only stayed behind because Marui did because Suzuki was taking her good ole jolly time getting her things together. After she finally put her bag over her shoulder, they headed out of the room, Marui telling her that they were going to Sweet Treats, and that she should just go home after practice.

"I wasn't planning on waiting for you," she said, eyes moving towards a group of people waiting by the stairs. Marui recognized Ito, his vice-captain, Bando, and Suzuki's vice-captain, Etsuko. She began to walk towards the group backwards, smiling at Marui and Niou. "See you around."

She headed to the group, Ito slinging an arm around her shoulders. She elbowed him.

By the time Niou and Marui made it to the cubbies in the lobby, Yagyuu and Jackal were already wrapped up in their winter jackets, waiting for them. Yagyuu was holding several pieces of clothing as well.

"You left these in the student council room," Yagyuu told Niou, thrusting them into his hands.

"Let me put my damn shoes on," Niou said, pushing them straight back into Yagyuu's hands.

Yagyuu let out an impatient sigh that made Jackal's mouth twitch into a half-smile. After Niou put his street shoes on, he grabbed his coat, gloves and scarf, preparing for his trip into what he considered the tundra. Scarf wrapped tightly around his neck, he slung his bag over his shoulder, waiting for Marui to slip on his gloves.

Then they headed off, walking at a near-jogging pace towards the train station.

.

Sweet Treats was rather full, but that was no surprise. They ordered anyways – when Jackal ordered a fruit bowl, Marui mumbled, "Salad." Niou rolled his eyes. Yagyuu looked confused, as did Jackal. After getting their food and drinks, the four managed to find a table squished into the corner.

Jackal dropped his fork shortly after they sat down. He ducked under the table, grabbed it even though he planned on getting a new one, and hit his head on his way back up. He swore, rubbing the back of his head, and then swore some more.

"I hate tables," he murmured. "You can get down fine, but you can never get back up."

Marui nodded in agreement. "It's like they're out to get us. Like, when you take the last sip of a soda, all of the ice charges at you."

"They don't charge, it's physics," Yagyuu said.

"You know what I mean."

Yagyuu shrugged, and then pulled his bag up onto the table. He pulled out a book he was supposed to read for English and slid his bag back onto the floor.

"I was kidding when I said you could do your homework," Niou said, gently kicking him.

"Your kidding-voice sounds eerily similar to your regular-voice, Niou-kun."

Niou put his smoothie's straw into his mouth, trying his best to suck out just a bit, but all he got was a chunk of strawberry stuck in his straw. He set his smoothie down and crossed his arms.

"Don't pout, Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, eyes not leaving his book.

Marui and Jackal were grinning. Niou shot daggers at them. "What?"

"You two act like an old married couple," Jackal said.

Niou kicked Jackal, hard. "Eat the damn fruit bowl. Yes, Marui, _bowl_. If it was on a plate, it'd be a salad, but it's in a bowl!"

Marui sunk into his seat, arms crossed.

* * *

**A/N: It's hard to write about the cold when it's summer. Also, I apologize for this chapter taking forever to get posted. I kept getting distracted.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21.**

Kirihara wasn't sure how he made it to school on time. He had woken up late (again) and sprinted out of his apartment while putting on his tie. It was a miracle that he hadn't strangled himself with it. It would have been an interesting headline. He slid into the train, several other students who lived near him eyeing him as though they didn't want people to know he went to the same school as them.

Yet, somehow, he had made it to school on time. He walked right by Marui and Jackal, who were talking about something or another, and headed inside to get away from the cold. He changed his shoes quickly, and then jogged up the stairs.

When he got to his class, Tanaka and Miyagi were already in their seats in the back of the room – Tanaka was braiding her hair and Miyagi was texting and using his textbook as a well. Kirihara sat in front of them, setting his bag next to his desk.

"You weren't on the train," Miyagi said. He slipped his phone into his pocket, setting his book down.

"I had to catch the second one. I over slept. Again."

"You need a new alarm clock," Tanaka said. She tied the bottom of her braid and flung it over her shoulder.

"Yes, and I need to buy a parrot and teach it to say, 'Help! I've been turned into a parrot!'" Miyagi said.

Tanaka smiled. Kirihara rolled his eyes and said, "I just need to remember to set it. It works fine."

"I want to go to one of Akaya's tennis matches and shout 'goal!' whenever he gets a point," Tanaka said. "Or yell 'out' when it's obviously in."

"I want to just get up and leave during the middle of class," Kirihara said. "Then I might come back and convince the teacher the other me was an evil twin, that I'm good and must destroy my other self, and then leave again shouting 'FOR AKAYA!'"

When they learned about doppelgangers during literature, the three couldn't stop laughing.

.

School seemed to drag on and on for some reason. Eventually it finally ended, and the three headed down into the lobby to change their shoes. It had begun to snow lightly during the day, and students on the inner classrooms were crowded around the front doors to watch.

"Sweet Treats?" Miyagi suggested.

"I can't," Tanaka said, sounding as though she wished she could. "My boyfriend and I are seeing a movie together. We pre-ordered the tickets and everything."

"What about afterwards? Akaya and I could see a movie and wait for you guys," Miyagi said.

Tanaka shook her head and sighed. "I'm going over to his house to have dinner with his family. I'm sorry. Tomorrow we'll raise hell, okay?"

Kirihara cleared his throat. "I can't tomorrow."

"The day after?" Tanaka asked.

"Going to see my grandparents," Miyagi said.

She sighed again, torn between her best friends and her boyfriend. "We'll figure something out. I'll see you guys later."

She rushed off towards a boy at the door. He kissed her cheek, which made Miyagi roll his eyes.

"We could hang out without her," Kirihara reminded him. "I don't have practice for awhile."

Miyagi nodded, wrapping a scarf around his neck. "Cool."

.

Kirihara never understood why his friends came to his apartment. He understood that it was the closest to school and the one to have pizza delivered the fastest, but still. Miyagi was sitting cross-legged on the floor, reading his English book, translating the section for their English homework. Kirihara was lying on his bed, trying to figure out the math homework, which seemed like a different language.

"I don't get this," Kirihara complained.

Miyagi looked up. "Seriously? You're screwed next year if you don't get that. Actually, you're screwed tomorrow. We have a test."

"Like you get it?"

"I do," he said "It's really not that hard."

"I hate you. You're too freakin' smart." Kirihara closed his book, resting his forehead against the cool cover. "You know what I'm doing tomorrow on the test? If I come across a question I don't know how to do, I'm going to write 'isn't it obvious?' and move on. Skipping is for pansies."

"Damn, my leg fell asleep," Miyagi muttered. He shifted so he wasn't crossing his legs. The moment he did, he grabbed his leg, jaw dropping. "Holy monkey penguin fucker!"

Kirihara would have laughed, but he knew how much awakening up a sleeping leg could be – the tingle, the burn, and the cramps. Blood's a bitch.

"So Miho's with her boyfriend," Kirihara said once Miyagi had calmed down.

Miyagi stopped rubbing his leg and looked up. "Yeah. So?"

"You like her?"

Miyagi shrugged and fell backwards, sprawling out on the floor. "I'm not going to tell her, though. She's happy with that idiot. I'd rather see her smile."

"What if they broke up?"

"I don't know. I'd probably never get the guts. What if we did start going out, break up for some reason, and then we can't be friends? I'm sure that if you had to choose sides you'd pick her. You love her. I _love _her."

"I guess." Kirihara rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling. "You two just seem so happy together. You have that weird nickname for her too."

"What nickname?"

"She said that she was 'M&M' on your phone," Kirihara said. "And apparently I'm 'curly douche.'"

"You have curly hair and you're a douche," Miyagi explained.

"Thanks." Kirihara rolled his eyes. "M&M? Really? What does that even mean?"

"Miyagi Miho." He sat up, leaning back on his hands. "Gay, I know."

"It's sweet," Kirihara corrected, not caring if he sounded gay or stupid or insane.

"Stop worrying about me and figure out how to do your homework. We have that test tomorrow and Miho will kill you if you fail another one. Besides, doesn't your captain watch your grades?"

Kirihara knew Miyagi didn't want to talk about Tanaka, so he shut up and grabbed his math book.

* * *

**A/N: Short chapter is short.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22.**

Yukimura rolled his shoulders as he walked to school. His hair was still wet from his morning shower, and he honestly thought his ears were going to fall off. He never was a fan of earmuffs, but he was starting to reconsider.

When he turned the corner, he saw Sanada and Yanagi waiting in their usual spot. Yanagi was wrapped in what appeared to be an Eskimo coat and Sanada was holding a cup of coffee to his lips. Yukimura walked up to them, grabbing the coffee from Sanada.

Yukimura took a sip and gagged. He shook his head and screwed his eyes shut. "It's bitter!"

"They were out of cream," Sanada said. "I could have bought you your own coffee if you had asked, Seiichi."

Yukimura shrugged and began to walk. Yanagi fell into step on his left, Sanada doing the same on his right. The captain took another sip, lips pressed together.

"Don't drink it if you don't like it," Yanagi said. It was his way of saying "give it back."

"I will suffer like a man, thank you very much," Yukimura replied.

Sanada took his coffee back from Yukimura, who promptly stuck his tongue out.

.

The first thing Yukimura realized when they walked through the school gates was a group of girls gathered under a tree. He veered off course, not saying a word to his friends. Yanagi shrugged and Sanada sighed, taking one last sip of his coffee before moving so they weren't trampled by students coming through the gates.

As Yukimura got closer to the girls, the few faces he could see had smiles. One whispered, "Isn't he cute?"

A girl whose back was to him turned around. Yukimura waved, quickly noticing her red ears. He wasn't sure if it was from the weather or her friend calling him cute.

"Hello, Koga-chan," Yukimura said, stopping in front of her. Her friends were giggling like a pack of hyenas. "Did you have a good break?"

"Hey, Yukimura-senpai," she said. "It was okay, a little boring, but okay. Yours?"

"Pretty good. Are you working today?"

Koga shook her head, lips pressed in the corner. "You won't believe it, but other people work there too."

"I don't believe it." She smiled and he smiled back. "If you're in town, I'm going to X-treme after school with my friends. You could stop in."

"That's the sports shop, right?" He nodded. She looked over her shoulder then back at Yukimura. The red on her ears had spread to her cheeks. "We might be in the area..."

"Alright, I guess I might see you later. Have a good day."

He turned and headed back to Sanada and Yanagi, realizing Kirihara had joined them. Yukimura grabbed Sanada's coffee cup and put it to his lips, only to realize it was empty. He frowned, handing it back.

"Would it be safe to assume that's the girl you've been talking about?" Yanagi asked.

"Yes," Yukimura said with a goofy sort of smile. "Her name's Koga."

"Koga _who?_" Sanada prompted.

"It's Chou," Kirihara said without really thinking. Yukimura looked at him with a curious expression. The second year shrugged. "She's in the class next to mine. Miho talks to her sometimes. She's shy, but in a good way. Anyway, Buchou, I was just wondering when practice started back up."

"This coming week," Yukimura said. "Monday morning for regulars and new recruits, but the afternoon is everybody."

Kirihara mumbled a quick "thanks" then hurried off, meeting up with Miyagi and Tanaka. They stayed outside rather than heading in, talking about something or another, rearranging plans.

The third year trio headed into building.

"Were you referring to her in your resolution about asking someone out?" Sanada asked as he tossed his cup into the trash.

"Yes," Yukimura said, tugging his scarf lose.

"She's cute," Yanagi said. Yukimura looked somewhat surprised. Yanagi, though very logical and analytical, didn't often comment on appearances and how that would affect a situation.

"She is," Yukimura agreed. "That's strange of you to say, Renji."

Yanagi stopped at his cubby, which was right next to Sanada's and Yukimura's. "I am merely implying that this will most likely turn out like all of your other relationships."

Yukimura understood what Yanagi meant. His "other relationships" were usually girls he went out with for a month. He only ever dated two girls long term – one in junior high for six months, and another during his first year of high school for nine months. They weren't extremely long relationships, but they were by Yukimura's standards.

"I hope it doesn't," Yukimura said. "I like her."

They switched the topic after that because Yukimura always said that, and the two knew there was no use in arguing that point.

.

School went by quick enough. Before he knew it, Yukimura was leaving through the school gates with Sanada and Yanagi at his side.

They stopped at Comet Café and bought hot chocolate for themselves before heading to X-treme. They sat in a booth in the back, Yanagi pulling his marshmallows out with a spoon and dropping them into Sanada's cup. He never cared for them.

Yanagi and Yukimura discussed a new book, Sanada sitting silently. Yukimura gently kicked Sanada under the table. "What's wrong?" Yukimura asked, cutting Yanagi off mid-sentence.

Sanada shrugged, taking a sip of his hot chocolate. "I had a few tests today. Tired, I suppose."

"You're always tired," Yukimura pointed out.

Sanada shrugged again. "I'm fine."

"Perhaps you need a new pillow?" Yanagi suggested.

Sanada shrugged a third time. "Maybe."

Yukimura didn't press. He wondered if that made him a bad friend. He wondered why they were even friends with him in the first place. If he met someone exactly like him, he wouldn't be friends with them. Perhaps it was that he was their captain. He never asked. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know the answer.

.

Yukimura never really thought about it, but X-treme had its fair share of female customers. The shop was rather large, with a balcony of clothing and shoes above the main floor, which had equipment and accessories for over a dozen sports. Girls usually looked at the clothing and shoes on the balcony.

Yukimura was leaning against the counters were the registers were, looking around the shop. Sanada and Yanagi were in the tennis section, looking at the new racquets and the different types of balls. His father was in the back, checking on a delivery. Emiko was in the balcony, looking for new running shoes.

The bells on the front door clinked together, getting Yukimura's attention. He pushed himself off the counter, walking over to the three girls who had just walked in, one of which he recognized instantly.

"Hello, Koga-chan," he said. "How can I be of service?"

"You work here?" Koga asked.

"My dad owns the store. Emiko, my sister, and I help out from time to time. Genchirou and Renji do, too," Yukimura said, glancing over his shoulder.

"Aren't you guys on the tennis team?" one of her friends asked.

"I'm captain. Genchirou – err, Sanada's my vice-captain. Yanagi is like the co-vice-captain."

Koga smiled while her two friends laughed even though he hadn't said anything particularly funny. Girls.

Out of now where, Emiko's head appeared from the balcony as she shouted, "Seiichi, did you call me?"

"How come you respond when I'm talking normally and happen to mention your name, but when I'm calling for you at the top of my lungs you're practically deaf?" Yukimura asked, looking up at her.

"I dunno. Maybe you're not screaming as loud as you think?" Emiko shrugged. "Hey, catch these for me!"

Yukimura's eyes went wide when she dropped down a pair of shoes. Yukimura rushed, catching them awkwardly. "Emiko!"

"Seiichi!" Emiko mocked, sticking her tongue out. "Tell Dad I'm getting a new swimsuit, too."

"You have a swimsuit."

"I have my competitive swimsuit, which I'd look like a dork in if I wanted to just swim. I need a bikini!"

"You are _not_ buying a bikini! It's January! You don't need a bikini! EMIKO!"

Emiko laughed and disappeared from sight. Yukimura put her new shoes on the counter with a little more force than necessary, and heard one of the girls clear her throat. Yukimura headed back to Koga and her friends, who had moved away from the front door to look at a small rack of key chains.

"Sorry," Yukimura said with a bit of a sigh. "My sister."

Koga was obviously amused at how different Yukimura acted around others. Before she could say anything, one of her friends asked, "Do you really have bikinis?"

Yukimura nodded. "We have swimwear, shoes, under armor, pants – the works. It's upstairs. I'll be up in a minute. Ask my sister if you need any help before then."

Koga's friends headed over to the stairs, whispering something into Koga's ear that made her turn around and smile at Yukimura.

Yukimura headed over to Yanagi and Sanada, running a hand through his hair.

"I can handle it when the one I like comes in, but not when she comes in with a pack of bikini-crazed harpies!" he hissed.

Yanagi smiled. "You told her to come."

"Bite me, Renji," Yukimura snarled as he turned around to head for the stairs. He took his time going up, quickly spotting the three girls. Koga was leaning against a wall, watching Emiko help her two friends pick out bikinis.

Yukimura headed over, leaning against the wall next to her. "Not interesting in getting a bikini when it's near freezing outside?"

Koga laughed softly. "I think I'll wait a bit."

"Seiichi," his sister said, not looking at him, "do we have any bandeau tops besides these?"

"What is that?" he whispered, looking down at Koga.

"It's a bikini top without straps," she whispered back. "Most of them come with straps, but girls take them off so they don't get tan lines."

Yukimura looked away from Koga – he did not need those images in his head.

"Seiichi!" Emiko called again, looking over her shoulder this time. "Did you hear me? I asked if –"

"I think that's all we have. We get a larger shipment of summer wear in a few months."

Emiko frowned and turned back to the girls, who were each holding one or two swimsuits. Emiko pulled a key ring out of nowhere, showing the two to the dressing rooms.

"Play any sports?" Yukimura asked.

"I go to the gym sometimes, but I don't really think that counts."

"How about a new sweatshirt or something?"

She turned and looked up at him. "Senpai, why are you that insistent on me buying something?"

"Because I don't want to watch my sister tramp around in a bikini – it's a big brother thing. Can't you just pretend to look, please?"

Koga sighed and looked around. She spotted a rack of women's sweatshirts and moved away from the wall. Yukimura followed her. She shifted through the sweatshirts, making faces and muttering things under her breath.

"Chou!" one of her friends shouted. The two turned around, Yukimura raising an eyebrow. Her two friends were standing in front of them, one in a pink stripped bikini, while the other was in a black bandeau thing.

"I like them! They're cute," Koga said, smiling and nodding as she looked her friends over.

Yukimura never understood why girls get so freaked out when you see them in their underwear, but couldn't care less about running around in a string bikini.

"Yukimura-senapi, what do you think?" the one in the black asked.

Yukimura nodded, lips pressed together. "Good."

The two giggled. They hurried back to the dressing rooms where they continued to laugh.

The bells on the front door bellow chimed. Yukimura headed over to the railing, shouting, "I'll be down in a minute!" to the two boys who had just walked in. Yukimura turned and nodded to Koga, who smiled in return. Then he rushed downstairs.

Yukimura didn't quite understand girls. He understood some, the quite ones who realized guys don't like it when you giggle and run around in bikinis when it was supposed to snow later that night. Koga was a quite one, the good kind. Her friends, on the other hand, were driving him up a wall.

.

Yukimura had just finished bagging the boys' items when the girls came down the stairs. Yukimura checked out her friends first (bikinis, skimpy work out shorts, and under armor), but didn't smile until Koga set her sweatshirt on the counter.

"So now you want to buy something," he teased.

"Yes, Senpai, I decided to buy something."

Yukimura rang up her sweatshirt, taking off ten percent without telling her. She dropped her change, laughing awkwardly. After she picked up the few coins, he handed her her bag with a smile. "Well, it was nice to see you, Koga-chan."

"My friends keep telling me to get your number," she said softly so her friends wouldn't overhear. Her ears were so pink, Yukimura wondered how there was enough blood to flow through her veins. Yukimura reconsidered – maybe Koga's friends weren't _that_ bad.

"Is that your way of asking for my number?"

"Maybe..."

"Hang on." Yukimura squatted and looked around the shelf under the counter. Receipt paper, price list, item list, inventory list... He stood back up, sharpie in hand. "Gimme your hand. I won't bite."

She put her hand in his palm, and he scribbled the number on the back of her hand. She pulled her hand back, grabbing the sharpie from him.

"I usually work Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and the weekends," she said. She turned his hand over, writing her number on the back of his. She drew a little smiley face, handing the pen back afterwards. "I'll talk to you later, Senpai."

"Bye."

* * *

**A/N: I read all three **_**Hunger Games**_** books in two days. I love Finnick and Annie. I blame the fluffness of this chapter on them.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23.**

When Monday morning rolled around, the regulars hauled it to school half an hour before the start of the first practice of the New Year. Of course, it wasn't the first real practice. The morning practice was simply an introduction to the new recruits who had joined over the winter. The tennis club was one of the few clubs that accepted late recruits. It wasn't Yukimura's decision; it was their club advisor's.

To form a club, five members were needed as was a club advisor. Advisors of sports clubs were usually called coaches, but the advisor of the tennis team liked to watch the sport, not play it. So they were stuck in the same situation they were back in junior high: the captain was completely responsible for everything that happened on the team, which was why Yukimura was frantically speed-walking around the gym with Sanada and Yanagi right behind him.

Kirihara, Jackal and Yagyuu were in charge of the clipboards with the names of new recruits – Kirihara first years, Jackal second years, and Yagyuu third years.

Marui was sitting on the floor with his back against the folded up bleachers, lazily sipping at his morning heart-attack-in-a-cup. Suzuki hadn't been happy about having to wake him up so early because she had no reason to be at school so early in the morning. She was sitting next to him, drinking her peach juice from the Corner Market and using Marui's shoulder as a pillow. When Yukimura asked her to leave, she barked, "Bite me, Girly." Yukimura left her alone after that.

Niou was sitting on top of the bleachers, having somehow managed to climb them. He was still pouting because Yukimura had found the trip wire that set off about a dozen air horns. Niou's welcome-to-the-club prank was foiled for the first time in years. Though he wasn't that extremely upset considering it wasn't the best prank.

Slowly, new recruits began to arrive.

"Next," Kirihara said. He had a line already; eighteen of the twenty-six new recruits were first years. The kid he had just checked off the list moved to a group of other first years, who were talking amongst themselves. Kirihara sighed. "Name."

"Urayama Shiita."

Kirihara looked up from his clipboard and smiled. "Hey, Urayama, I was wondering when you would show up."

When Kirihara had graduated, the boy was still sporting his swirly pink hair. He looked completely different than he had back in junior high. He still had the pink hair, but it wasn't as ice-cream-like. He also had that awkward feeling a lot of the first years did due to growing too much in a short time.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't join in the fall," Urayama said, rubbing the back of his head. "I wanted to see how I adjusted to high school first."

"I thought you just quit," Kirihara said as his eyes scrolled down the list of names on his clipboard. He found Urayama Shiita and crossed it off.

"Nope. Just wanted to make sure I wouldn't flunk out," he joked. He held up his wrist, showing Kirihara his wrist band. "I still wear them and add weight from time to time. I know only the regulars do this in high school, but I figured it would help. I practiced on Sunday's with my partner, too."

"Maybe we can get you into some practice matches, see if we can get you playing in some local level tournaments in the spring," Kirihara said and he meant it. Kirihara knew damn well that he would favor Urayama over the other first years. Urayama had been his vice-captain, and Kirihara would have made him captain if the kid had anything that resembled a backbone.

Kirihara was somewhat shocked when Urayama didn't join in the fall and his partner, Oyama Kenta, did join. Kirihara had just assumed that Urayama had quit. It was nice to see that he hadn't, that he was still working hard.

"Um, go over with the other first years," Kirihara instructed. "Yukimura-buchou is just going over some ground rules. We'll sort everyone this afternoon by singles and doubles and playing styles and all that jazz."

Urayama nodded and headed over to the group of first years.

"Next," Kirihara said dully.

.

The new recruits stood in lines based on grade. Kirihara, Jackal and Yagyuu handed in their clipboards. Yagyuu and Jackal joined Marui on the floor, but Kirihara chose to scale the bleachers and join Niou at the top.

Out of the twenty-six new recruits, six didn't show. If they showed in the afternoon, it would not be a pretty sight. Yukimura stepped in front of the three lines, skimming names and numbers – eighteen first years, sixteen showed; five second years, four showed; three third years, none showed.

Yukimura tossed the clipboards to the side and stood in front of the lines, Yanagi and Sanada behind him. Yukimura took in a deep breath and began, "This is an introduction to club rules more than anything else. This afternoon you will be split into singles or doubles. You will be sorted by play style throughout the next several weeks. I am Yukimura Seiichi, your captain. You will address me as such. This is Sanada Genichirou, your vice-captain, and you will also address him as such. Yanagi Renji has all the powers of a vice-captain, so treat him with respect. Genchirou?"

"The club rules are standard," Sanada said loudly. "The lockers in the back of the locker room, which is often referred to as the club room, are for regulars only. The showers in the back of the club room are for regulars only. Lockers will be assigned by the end of the week. You are permitted to bring drinks onto the court, but food is strictly forbidden. If you try to sneak gum in, do so at your own risk. If you choke, you better hope someone near you knows CPR."

"You forgot that you aren't allowed to pee in a cup and put it in Fukubuchou's locker," Niou added loudly. He spotted Urayama. "Hey, Ice-Cream-Head!"

"Uh, hi, Niou-senpai," Urayama said awkwardly. Everyone seemed to be looking at him. He stared at the ground, wishing he was invisible.

"Any horse play is punishable," Sanada added, ignoring Niou's little outburst. Everyone looked from Urayama to the vice-captain. "Uniforms are handed out and are expected to be worn at every practice. If you cannot afford one for whatever reason, we have funds for that – we will be collecting your shirt and short sizes this afternoon. Those tardy to practice will be punished."

Sanada looked at Yanagi, who was to go next.

"Practice schedules will be posted in the locker room once a week, as will fliers for tournaments we recommend entering for experience," Yanagi began. "Some of you will be receiving personal work-out schedules. We cannot enforce that you follow your personal schedules, but it is highly recommended. If you cannot attend a scheduled practiced for any reason, you are to contact Seiichi, Genchirou or myself."

Yanagi stopped at that and looked at Yukimura. Yukimura smiled at the new recruits. "I welcome you to the club, and will see you all this afternoon at the tennis courts."

.

Afternoon came too quickly. As Yukimura walked down the halls with Sanada and Yanagi, he realized he barely remembered what had happened during the day. He couldn't stop thinking about tennis, about which first years might have potential to climb the chain and become regulars as second years. If the recruits that didn't show up in the morning would show up in the afternoon.

"Seiichi," Yanagi said. "Did you hear me?"

"Hmm? No. Sorry. Could you repeat that?"

Yanagi let out a heavy sigh. "Seiichi, I asked if you're okay. You're acting very strange lately. Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine," Yukimura said. He felt like a caged animal at a zoo, like he was on display for everyone. He decided to stop asking Sanada if he was okay unless he starting acting very, very strange. It wasn't a good feeling to be second guessed by friends. Yukimura mimicked Yanagi's sigh and continued: "Tennis stress, I suppose. I really need a cup of coffee. Can we stop by Comet Café after practice?"

"That sounds like a good idea," Sanada said. "My mom texted me in the middle of class asking me to pick up coffee beans."

"Oh, Genchirou is texting in class," Yukimura teased. "You big ole rebel."

Yanagi smiled. Sanada rolled his eyes. "Seiichi..."

.

Everyone in the tennis club was wrapped up in sweatpants and coats. Older members were running laps Sanada had assigned. The new recruits were given spare sweats and uniforms to borrow until they could get their own. Kirihara, Jackal and Yagyuu took shirt and pant sizes for the new recruits before sending them off to do a few laps. All twenty-six of the new recruits showed up in the afternoon.

"Anyone who you recognize?" Yukimura asked Kirihara curiously.

"Urayama Shiita."

"Yes, I remember him. Singles or doubles?"

"Doubles. His partner, Oyama Kenta, has been matched up with several people, but he's used to working with Urayama so he hasn't stood out much," Kirihara explained. "Urayama still wears his weights."

Yukimura nodded approvingly. "I see. I'll talk to Urayama and Oyama-kun about getting individual practice schedules. Is there anyone else?"

Kirihara handed Yukimura his clipboard. "Not really. I don't recognize any of the names from junior high. They must be newbies."

Yukimura nodded again and headed off. It was the same with Jackal – no one really caught his eye, most of them were newbies. The three third years that had signed up showed up for afternoon practice, but they were sitting on a hill instead of running laps.

"What are they doing on my hill?" Yukimura asked Sanada. "That's where I sit. No one takes my hill. Genchirou, Renji, _they're on my hill_."

Yanagi sighed. "They're club jumpers."

Yukimura frowned. "Of course they are."

Club jumpers was a term Yukimura had coined back in junior high. They were generally third years who hop into a club, thinking they'll be able to play in tournaments. There were a few every year, and they usually weren't that good.

"If they say they're above anything, I give you permission to give the new recruits a demonstration, Genchirou," Yukimura said. Then he was gone, blowing his whistle. "In line by grade! _NOW!_"

The boys hustled to line up in front of Yukimura. The boys on the hill took their time, standing in the front of the third years. The regulars hung behind Yukimura, wondering why Yukimura had cut laps early.

"New recruits: I would like to have all singles players go with Akaya at this time. You will refer to him as Kirihara unless he tells you otherwise," Yukimura reminded them. The regulars had their reasons for calling Kirihara Akaya, but that did not permit everyone to treat him so familiarly.

Kirihara held up his hand and moved to the side. Two first years and a second year joined him.

"I would like doubles players to go with Marui and Jackal," Yukimura said. "They will help you find partners within the following months. If you have someone in mind, don't be afraid to speak up."

Marui and Jackal moved aside. Marui popped a bubble, simply to go against what Sanada had said that morning about doing so at your own risk. Five first years, including Urayama, and three seconds years grouped around them.

"If you have no idea what you want to do, go with Niou," Yukimura said. "Niou plays both doubles and singles, and will help you decide which you want to play.

The remaining eleven first years went, as did the four second years. The three third years from the hill remained in line.

"Is there a reason you three feel like you have the right to skip laps and not follow my directions?" Yukimura asked kindly.

One of the boys shrugged. "Tennis isn't hard. You just wack a ball around," he said. Yukimura was almost certain his name was Hayashi.

"I see. Then would you like to challenge a regular for a spot?" Yukimura asked. "In order to play in tournaments, you must be a regular or a regular must allow you to take their spot. To become a singles player, you must defeat Akaya with a score of 6-3 or better. To become a doubles player, you must either beat Yagyuu and Niou, or Jackal and Marui 6-3 or better. Care to try?"

Hayashi hesitated. "I'll pass, Yukimura-_buchou_. I don't want to beat a second year."

Kirihara balled his hands into fists.

Yukimura nodded. "Alright then. Akaya, Marui, Jackal, and Niou will be helping the new recruits. Of course, Hayashi and his friends are above our rules, so they can either leave and be punished with an excessive amount of laps if they ever return to the club, or they can run the rest of practice. Older members, work on your swings and serves as assigned before winter. Don't worry about being rusty – you'll get the hang of it again in a few days."

Yukimura put his whistle to his lips and blew. He watched as everyone began to move, and noticed Hayashi and the others beginning to run laps around the courts.

.

Sanada and Yanagi changed after practice and went into Yukimura's office. The captain was taking a shower while Yanagi logged onto Yukimura's computer to order new uniforms. Sanada sat down on the sofa and began to read a book. Reading was the one thing the three of them had in common besides tennis.

Eventually, the door opened, and Yukimura stumbled in. His skin was red from the hot water, a towel around his neck. He collapsed onto the sofa next to Sanada, grabbing his book from his hands. "I haven't read this one yet," he said.

Sanada sighed. "Seiichi, I realize this was a stressful day for you, but that is not excuse –"

"I just want coffee," Yukimura groaned.

"Buy your own," Sanada muttered.

Yukimura smiled like Niou. "Of course I will. When have I ever taken your coffee?"

* * *

**A/N: So two more OCs – Oyama Kenta and Hayashi the ass. **

**rnblvr676: **I don't want to spoil anything regarding Suzuki and whether or not she gets another boyfriend. It's very possible, but nothing is official because I'm writing this chapter-by-chapter.

st."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24.**

Marui was confused when his mom woke him up until he remembered that she had the day off. She generally made breakfast for Marui and the twins on her days off. She told him that Suzuki was downstairs, and to take a shower since he didn't the night before.

After getting a shower and finding a clean uniform, Marui headed downstairs. Haruto and Hikaru appeared to be half asleep – they generally didn't get up as early as Marui and Suzuki. Suzuki was sitting at the table, talking to Marui's mom about nothing in particular. Girls were good at chit-chat.

"Morning," Marui mumbled. He stopped in front of the counter, scooping rice out of the cooker and taking a bowl of miso soup. He sat down next to Suzuki, grabbing a glass and the pitcher of water. "Akira, didn't you have morning practice?"

"Canceled," Suzuki answered. "Half of the baseball team was getting sick from the cold. Babies."

Marui rolled his eyes. "So says the girl who's still wearing your scarf inside."

"I'd rather be warm than cold." Suzuki readjusted Ito's scarf and added, "And I figured I would only be here for a moment, but Marui-san offered me breakfast and I was hungry."

"It's alright, Suzuki-chan," his mother said with a smile. "You're always welcome here. So, boys, how's school on your end? I haven't seen much of you lately."

It was true. She was working double shifts because of cutbacks in the nursing staff. It was ridiculous how little they saw of their mother.

"The same," Hikaru said vaguely. Haruto nodded in agreement.

Their mother didn't press. She learned not to agitate fourteen year old boys when Marui was that age. "Bunta?" she asked.

"Tennis this afternoon for the regulars," Marui said as he poked at his rice. "Just a quick meeting on what we plan on doing for the tournaments and stuff. But Akira's practice runs later, and we made plans to go to Sweet Treats, so I might be home a bit late."

"It's alright if you come home late." His mother smiled. After years of teasing Marui that he was going on dates with Suzuki, she finally understood what most people didn't: they really were just friends who could never look at each other like that. "Suzuki-chan, how's softball going?"

"Good, I think we can make it through Kanto regionals and to nationals," she said hopefully. "We've been practicing with the baseball team, which is helping."

"That's good," his mother said honestly. "We'll be cheering for you."

"Thanks."

After a little more chit-chat, which basically involved Haruto and Hikaru being interrogated about their love lives by their step-mother, Marui and Suzuki gathered up their things and left.

.

Suzuki and Marui were already in homeroom when Niou walked in. Niou sat next to them, looking at Suzuki for a moment before saying, "Suzuki, you're a girl."

"Really?" She sounded offended. "I thought I had a hole between my legs because I was a mermaid."

"I have to go to this birthday party for a girl I don't know in a few days, and I was wondering if you could give me gift help," Niou said, getting straight to the point.

Suzuki stared at him. "Me?"

"You."

She pointed to herself. "_Me?_"

"No, your vagina."

"My vagina doesn't like you."

Niou sighed. He wasn't one to be frustrated easily, but Suzuki had a strange talent for doing it within two minutes of him walking into a room. He wondered why Marui had to be friends with her.

"I'm serious," Niou said. "I'm freaking out because the party is in a few days. Like, four days."

"You waited this long? No wonder you're single."

"You're single."

"By choice."

Niou groaned. "Just tell me what to get her."

"What does she like?"

"Never met her."

Suzuki shrugged as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Part of her wanted to say that girls like scarves, but then she realized she hated every single scarf on the planet besides Ito's. "Owl necklaces are popular," she said. "You do know what a necklace is, right? That thing that goes around your neck?"

"And where could I found one?"

"The mall," she replied without hesitation. "You could probably buy a diamond one if money isn't a problem. They come in different styles, too."

"Money's not a problem."

She nodded once, as though she was remembering something. "Right. N-ware. Son of a filthy stinkin' rich CEO."

Niou mimicked her nod. "Right. I can buy a bazooka to shoot your ass into next week if you tell anyone that."

"You know what?" Suzuki snapped. "Girls hate necklaces. Get her a dead frog."

"Way to leave me out of that conversation," Marui mumbled.

Niou rolled his eyes.

.

Afternoon tennis practice was only for the regulars, so Yukimura held it in the locker room. It smelled like sweat and axe spray. No matter how nasty it was, it was manly. Kirihara gagged and claimed he didn't remember it smelling _that_ bad.

"So, as you know, the prefectural tournament is in March, Kanto regionals in May, and nationals in June," Yukimura began. "We all know Echizen is back, but he alone will not allow Seigaku to win. We are not focusing are beating any specific team. We are focusing on beating them all. That's why I want all of you to work on new moves, even if it's just a new serve, or a new formation. I want to win. We will win."

"New formations?" Niou asked. "We've learned all the textbook ones!"

Jackal nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Buchou, that's gonna be tough."

"Then make one up," Yukimura said. "This year is going to be rough. Fudomine has built a high school, which has a tennis team consisting of everyone it did from junior high. That's another national level team that we didn't have to deal with last year. I don't want to be blindsided."

"But new moves?" Kirihara asked. "I don't think I can learn anything else."

"Figure something out," Yukimura repeated. "That is all."

All the boys filtered out but Yukimura, Yanagi and Sanada, who returned to Yukimura's office. Niou asked Marui if he wanted to go to his house with Yagyuu, but Marui turned him down. Jackal had plans with Kirihara, so Marui headed over to the baseball/softball courts to wait for Suzuki's practice to finish.

Suzuki and Ito were on the pitching mound, yelling at the top of their lungs. Etsuko and Bando were trying to get everyone else to work on their batting posture, but it was hard when Suzuki was shouting "giant moron!" and Ito was yelling "Toots!"

Marui sat down on a bench by the guy's locker room, hoping it wouldn't take that long.

.

Marui never understood softball or baseball, so he did his homework. After an hour, the teams were thoroughly frozen to the core, so Suzuki and Ito called it quits. While the girls headed to their locker room, the guys walked right by Marui. To Marui's surprise, Ito sat next to him.

"Uh, hey," Marui said awkwardly. "You need something? Because, if you don't, I'd like to punch you."

Ito raised his eyebrows. "Why is that?"

"I know what you did back in junior high, what you said to Akira," Marui hissed. "We both know she doesn't like getting hurt. She puts up so many walls, she let you in, and you destroyed her. She's still strung up on that."

"Marui, right? Look, I don't want to hurt her. I was thirteen, had never kissed a girl, and I didn't want to kiss the girl I had a crush on in front of everyone. I was an ass."

"I know you're an ass, no need to tell me," Marui said. He decided not to ask if Ito still had that crush. "Why did you sit down? What do you want?"

"No reason. I knew she'd come by here. She'd ignore me usually. She does that sometimes. But if I'm next to you, she'll have to acknowledge me," Ito reasoned. "Besides, you make her smile. She's pretty when she smiles. You two got a thing or something?"

"No. We're friends."

Ito smiled. "Good. I was worried. She seems to spend a lot of time with you, and –"

"Bunta!" Suzuki called. She came jogging around the corner, wrapping Ito's scarf around her neck. She smiled and stopped at Marui's bench. "Ito? Why haven't you changed?"

"You changed in two minutes," Ito said with a bit of a laugh. "Don't girls take forever?"

"The more layers, the better. It's cold." She shrugged, and then looked between the two. "Having a nice, manly chat, Bunta?"

"Something like that," Marui said. He stood up, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Let's go. I'm thirsty."

When the two were ten or so feet away, Suzuki turned around and smiled at Ito. She tugged at her scarf, shouted, "See you later!" and kept walking.

"See ya, Toots!"

.

Sweet Treats was busy as always, but the two didn't need to wait long for their order. They walked away from the counter, Suzuki holding her container of frozen peach yogurt, Marui holding his lemonade, and sat in a seat next to the window.

"What did you and Ito talk about?" Suzuki asked curiously.

"Random stuff," Marui said. It wasn't a complete lie. It was a half-lie. It had been a really random conversation. "Still don't get you two."

"Friends, Bunta, _friends_," she said, nearly hissing the last word. She undid Ito's scarf, dropping it next to her bag. "Practice okay?"

Marui sighed, and then explained that Yukimura wanted the regulars to learn new formations. Suzuki nodded, taking small bites of her yogurt.

"I see," she said when he finished. "I mean, I don't know much about tennis... You're offensive while your partner is defensive, right?"

Marui nodded and took a quick sip of his lemonade. "Yup. It means I play at the net and he plays at the base line. Unless something goes really, really wrong."

"Why don't you play at the back more?"

Marui stared at her as though she was insane. "Akira, there's a huge difference in defensive and offensive play style. Jackal does the back; I do the front because I'm better at ball control – that sounded_ sooo_ wrong."

Suzuki laughed. She never understood tennis, even though he explained it to her several times in baby-level-terms. However, she did enjoy the many sex jokes it offered. Balls, too long, too deep, curved... It was a dirty sport.

"Why don't you do the back?" she asked after she calmed down. "Look, I don't want to be mean, but you're a dependent person. You still wait for me to wake you up and you copy my homework all the time. Everyone knows you rely on your partner. It would be the best trick play ever."

"I'm grown up," Marui snapped. "You're just being an ass."

She shrugged off his insult and put another spoonful of peach yogurt in her mouth. "It's true."

"Well... you're still an ass_."_

"You know I'm right." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Marui hated to admit it, but it she was right. If he could raise up his stamina so he could play at the base line and if Jackal could perfect one or two more offensive techniques then it would be possible. No one would expect it. It would be the Niou-Yagyuu-switch-a-roo of the tournaments. The ultimate trump card.

It was impossible, but perfect.

* * *

**A/N: I love how this story does have a plot, but is completely plot-less at the same time. **

**Also, because this is an Americanized school year (Japanese school years confuse me no matter how much I read about them), I had to fiddle with the dates for the tournaments. In junior high, each tournament was two months later than what I said in this chapter. Just pointing that out. **


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25.**

Niou was in the sun room of his house (Marui called it a mansion), shifting uncomfortably in the wicker chair he was in so that the wood wasn't poking his butt and the sun coming through the dozens of windows wasn't blinding him. His sister was playing on the piano in the corner and his brother was lying on the sofa, typing a history essay.

Niou and his brother were supposed to be out with their dad for a Niou Man Day, but their dad called early in the morning to tell them he couldn't make it. They understood their dad did what he had to do in order to keep the company going. Niou and his brother acted like they didn't care, but they did. They would get over it. They always did.

Niou put Sato Ree's gift into the bag, and then stuffed a few sheets of neon green tissue paper on top. Their maid had offered to pack the gift for him, but he decided to do it himself. Besides, putting a gift into a bag wasn't that hard. He was probably going to be the only one at the party who had a bagged gift. Apparently, being rich and stuck up means you can't put gifts in bags. Go figure.

"Tell me again how you two got out of this, but Atobe is going through enough loops to develop a loop phobia for me to go?" Niou asked his siblings.

His older sister, Riko, smiled at him and froze her fingers for a moment. "Because we had hot wild monkey sex and he fell in love with me. He's terrified his love for me will return if he ever sees my face again."

Niou tossed a roll of ribbon at her. It only made it half way. "Seriously, Riko. This is freakin' unfair."

Riko shrugged, going back to whatever she was playing. (Piano music all sounded the same to Niou.) "Ask Dad if he needs any help at work. I'm sure he could get out of it if you really want to."

"Atobe made sure there were no meetings. Kenji, how did you get out of this?"

Kenji, his younger brother, smirked in a way that was very similar to his brother's. "Sorry, but I had hot monkey sex with Atobe, too. I think he loves me more than Ri-ri."

"Well, damn it all!" Riko hit the wrong key, the sound ringing uncomfortably in the air. She tried to pretend she was angry, but never was a very good actor. She was smiling as she shouted, "What a man-whore!"

"I'm pretty sure that makes him a pedophile, considering you're thirteen, Kenji," Niou said. He sunk into the chair, staring at the bag on the table in front of him. "I don't want to go."

"Then just don't go, Masa," Kenji said. "It doesn't really matter. You barely know her. I doubt she's going to notice if you don't show up. I mean, she might, but it shouldn't matter. Oh, I don't know."

"Atobe will notice. He's a bunch of words I don't want Kenji saying yet," Niou muttered.

"You just realized that?" Kenji asked. "He stopped by the junior high last week to see how the tennis team is doing. Something about not ruining his name. He walked in during the middle of our choir practice, too, and Sakaki-san didn't get mad. The jerk started bossing us around, and kept looking at me with that smirk, like he was better than me, asking me about how you're doing, Masa. He asked me why I'm doing a duet at the next concert and not a solo. The girl I'm performing with started crying."

"Sakaki does choir now? That guy is taking over the school," Riko said.

"He was the tennis coach when Atobe went to school there," Niou explained to Kenji.

"No, he still is the tennis coach," Kenji said. "He does orchestra, the choir, the literature club, and tennis club. I think he's doing chess club next year."

"Shadow Sakaki is taking over, one club at a time," Riko joked. She ran a hand through her long, black hair. It was the color Niou's would be if he didn't dye his. It was the same color as their father's. Their mother's was blonde. She was American, which is why her three children ended up with blue eyes.

"I'm going to miss your crappy jokes," Kenji said. "When do you go back to university?"

"Next week. But I'm going to see you two a lot. Dad wants us to sit in on meetings, remember? The first one is in February, I think."

Kenji and Niou made similar faces. They loved their father to death and were all willing to take over the company (split three ways, of course), but some of the old farts their dad worked with were terrible. To put it simply, they would rather listen to Atobe than be in a room with them.

"I actually have a few ideas," Riko told her brothers. "I have no idea if the department heads will listen, but I've run the basics by Dad and he seems to like the idea."

"Which is?"

"It's a surprise." She winked. "Speaking of surprises, Masa, what'd you get Sato-chan?"

"A surprise," he said.

"Bite me," she snapped.

"Incest is a no-no, Ri-ri." Niou wiggled his finger back and forth. She got up from the piano bench, grabbed the ball of ribbon that had failed to hit her, and tossed it at Niou's head. Niou grabbed Sato's gift and made a run for it.

The three of them weren't considered normal by the other kids in their social class. Riko and Kenji acted proper in public, but when they were alone, with their family and friends, they were just as bad as Niou. Niou couldn't remember a time he was proper in public. Being weird was too much fun.

.

Niou was staring the ceiling of his bedroom, debating whether to go try and find one of his family members, to do his homework, to call someone to hang out, or to take a nap. His sister and mother were having tea in the lounge, so going there was out of the question. He could always go bug the chef for a snack or two.

A nap was beginning to sound like the best choice. He had stayed up late the night before talking on a three way phone call with Yagyuu and Naomi because Naomi was having nightmares and Yagyuu couldn't seem to calm her down. Niou was just about to fluff his pillows when someone knocked on his door.

"Come in," Niou called. He fluffed his pillows anyways. Kenji shut the door behind him. He came in, sitting down at the end of his older brother's bed. Niou raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Ken?"

Kenji shifted awkwardly. Niou sometimes forgot that besides their sense of humor, he and his siblings were different. Riko was polite and honest. Niou was obnoxious and loud. Kenji was – well, he was a lot of things. Niou wouldn't call him socially awkward, but he was anxious, always second guessing himself, over thinking things.

"Ken, come on," Niou said in his big-brother voice. "What's wrong? Either something happened between earlier today and now, or you didn't want Riko to hear. Is it a girl?"

"No." He shifted again. "It's just..."

Niou hesitated. "Is it a guy?"

"_No._"

"Just making sure." Niou smiled and tossed a pillow for his brother to fiddle with. Kenji immediately began to dig his fingers into the pillow, unable to keep his hands still. "If it's not a guy or girl, what is it, Ken? It's not what Atobe said about your duet, is it?"

Kenji shook his head again. "Some of my friends want to go to this party a girl in our class is throwing. Her parents aren't going to be home, and she said she can sneak in drinks and stuff. I was going to ask Dad and you later, but he couldn't come so..."

Niou nodded understandingly. He himself had to make a similar decision around Kenji's age, and he remembered asking their father for advice. Niou felt strange, realizing that Kenji trusted him as much as he did their father. For the life of him, Niou couldn't remember what his father had said.

"Do you want to go to this part to this party?" Niou asked.

"I don't know. I do, but I don't want at the same time. Does that make any sense?" Kenji sighed. His knuckles were turning white from gripping the pillow. "All of my friends are going and it would be fun, but I don't want to drink. Whenever Mom lets me drink wine, I get really sick. I hate the stuff."

"The first and last time I got drunk, I humped a piano," Niou said bluntly. "I haven't had anything since then. I go straight for the orange juice at benefits, and I drink sparkling cider instead of champagne."

"Riko's piano?"

"I have no idea." Niou sighed, figuring he might as well tell the story. "It was at the New Year's Eve party I had two years ago. It was just me and the guys from tennis. Then the guys from Hyotei found out. I think Yukimura mentioned it to Atobe. Then they showed up, then Seigaku showed up, and then a bunch of people I didn't know showed up. I think a lot of people thought it was Atobe's party because the kids at my school don't exactly know about all of this."

Niou waved his hands around, gesturing towards the house.

"Anyways," he continued, "someone spiked all the drinks. I left my soda out for two seconds, and I came back and it had rum in it. By the end of the night, even Hiroshi was a little tipsy. I ended up being dared to dance on a piano, and apparently I thought it was a stripper pole, so I started humping it. The end."

Kenji stared at his brother, as though he was deciding to laugh to call BS. He went the safe way and asked, "Seriously?"

"I'm not proud of it. It was the worst mistake I ever made," Niou admitted. "I knew there was stuff in the drinks, but I kept drinking. I wish I hadn't."

"So should I go or not?" Kenji asked. "I didn't get your opinion. I just learned to stay away from Ri-ri's piano."

"Listen Kenji, I can't decide for you. You're thirteen, you've got a good head on your shoulders, and you know what's right. You can go and not drink. You don't even have to go. I'll stay home and we can have a movie marathon or something."

"Really?" Kenji sounded excited. Spending time with their father was rare, but spending time with each other was even rarer. They didn't exactly have anything common besides DNA and humor. "Can we get pizza and stuff?"

"Of course."Niou tossed another pillow at his brother. "I'm done being the good big brother. Get out so I can sleep."

Kenji left the pillows on the bed. Niou wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Kenji say, "Thanks, Masa."

* * *

**A/N: And Niou's father remains a mystery! But at least I introduced his siblings. **


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26.**

Niou took his tux jacket off of his shoulder, quickly slipping it on as he rushed down the stairs. He straightened his bowtie and double checked to make sure all of the buttons in his shirt were in the right holes. He shoved the thin white fabric down the front of his pants, jumping down the last few steps.

"I'm going to Atobe's! I'll be back around midnight!" Niou shouted, not that anyone would hear him unless they were in the rooms surrounding the foyer. Their voices simply didn't carry through the house. Niou did a three-sixty, and then another as he muttered under his breath: "Shoes... shoes... shoes..."

He spotted his shoes by a table and his gift on top of the table next to a large vase of lilacs. He grabbed his shoes, but didn't put them on. They were as tight as anything, and he was going to wait until he got to Atobe's to put them on. He grabbed the bag, and then was out the door.

After going down another set of stairs, he rushed past the limo (his mom and dad had a dinner date), past his sister's car, past his dad's work car, and past his dad's mid-life-crisis car. His family really needed to learn to use the garage. Then again, he didn't use the garage...

His car was next after his dad's shiny red sports car. He pulled his keys out of his pocket, and jumped into the driver's seat, tossing his gift into the passenger's seat. It wasn't breakable. He double checked his bowtie in the mirror, stuck the key into the ignition, and headed out.

.

Niou guessed that Marui would call Niou's "mansion" a hotel room after seeing Atobe's house. It was _literally_ a mansion. There were at least five levels, and was about ten times longer than it was tall. It was enormous in every sense of the word. The dozens of cars parked out front looked like ants compared to it. The thing was the Godzilla of houses.

Niou parked his car on the driveway, not wanting to risk parking in the grass and pissing off the gardeners. He put on his shoes, grabbed Sato's gift, locked the car doors, and began to head towards the house. After what seemed like the longest walk of his life, he was at the front door being greeted by one of Atobe's butlers.

"Good evening, Niou-san," the butler said. "May I take your jacket?"

Niou had never met the guy. Atobe probably told him to memorize pictures of all the guests. That rich freak. Niou nodded, figuring it was the guy's job, and slid his coat off. He tossed it at the butler, smiled politely instead of like a demon for once, and headed inside.

Though Niou had been in the foyer of Atobe's house dozens of times, it looked different each time. They probably changed the rugs and paintings monthly. However, this is the first time the foyer wasn't full. Niou looked around, wandering where everyone was.

"Through the archway to the right of the stairs. Keigo-sama wished for the party to be held in the ballroom," the butler said.

Niou flinched – the butler had ninja feet.

Niou nodded, thanked him, and headed towards the archway. He walked through a hall of fine art, and heard the faint sound of the piano being played. He walked through another archway at the end of the hallway and into an enormous room full of people who Niou didn't know. He figured they were Hyotei students, or perhaps some of Sato's university friends.

All of the men were wearing identical tuxedos, every single one of them looking like a penguin. Atobe had his hair brushed back and looked like the king of the penguin douches. All of the girls were wearing long, flowing dresses or short, knee-length cocktail dresses. Niou didn't know much about dresses, but he would bet they were of the newest fashions.

Niou slid into the room unnoticed, quickly spotting the gift table. He was the only one who bagged a gift. He was also the only one who used color. Most of the boxes were silver, white or black. Niou's bag was pink with neon green tissue paper. He added it to the table anyways.

"Niou, I'm surprised you showed."

This was annoying already. He was beginning to wonder if ninja feet were a requirement to enter the Atobe estate. He hoped not. He had feet that would put an elephant to shame.

Niou turned. "Oshitari, it's not very nice to see you."

Oshitari took a sip of champagne out of the flute he was holding, completely ignoring Niou's comment. "Jirou and I had a bet on whether or not you would show. He owes me quite a sum. Champagne?"

"I don't drink anymore. I had a bad experience with a piano," Niou said. He scanned the room, and then looked back at Oshitari. "Akutagawa is here?"

Oshitari nodded slightly, as though his neck would crack if he moved it too much. "Yes. Gakuto and Kabaji-kun are here as well."

"So where's Sato-chan? Has she shown up yet?"

"I believe so, but who knows? It's not that important. This party is for show, even she would know that." Oshitari shrugged, taking another sip. "Are you sure you don't want anyone champagne? You look a little... tense."

Niou shook his head. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you –"

"I will shove that glass or flute or whatever the freak it's called up your ass," Niou hissed.

"Testy," Oshitari said. Without another word, he turned and headed towards a group of people who invited him to join their conversation without a second thought.

Niou looked around again. Atobe was coming this way, a girl on his arm. Niou slid to the side and down a hallway. It looked like he was playing hide-from-Atobe-and-hope-he-didn't-seek tonight. Maybe he should have taken the champagne and humped a piano instead.

.

Atobe had spotted him ducking into the hallway and yanked him back out by the collar, smiling as though this was completely normal. "Glad to see you could make it, Niou."

"My brother and sister send their regards," Niou lied. "You gonna let go of my collar? You wouldn't want my tuxedo to look wrinkled. It might make you look bad, Atobe."

Atobe let go of Niou's collar, gently shoving him towards Akutagawa and Mukahi. "Have fun," Atobe murmured, heading off to talk to Oshitari.

"Niou," Mukahi greeted. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Why is everyone so surprised?" Niou asked.

"Because you never show up," Akutagawa said. He was licking chocolate off of his fingers. "Have you tried the chocolate strawberries? They're amaaaaazing."

"I'm good."

"We're not trying to poison you," Mukahi said. Then he popped a strawberry in his mouth. "Jell, Mushi bite."

Akutagawa laughed softly. "He said Yuushi – Oshitari – might."

"And that's why I didn't take the champagne," Niou explained. "Is this seriously fun to you guys?"

Mukahi shrugged. "We do it for our parents. They last thing they need is a public relations catastrophe."

Akutagawa nodded. "Yeah. We don't like it that much either. I mean, some of the people here are nice, but most of them are Atobe's friends. The food's good. Girls are cute. Dancing is fun."

"Well," Niou said, looking over the Hyotei boys' shoulders, "Atobe is flirting with some girl, so I'm going to make a run for it. Have fun."

Niou slipped away, barely able to hear Akutagawa say something about going to get more strawberries.

.

Niou had yet to see a single person there, besides himself, that didn't attend Hyotei high, or one of its sister schools. The strange thing was that there wasn't a single university student there. It really was just a show to make Atobe look good.

Niou spotted Atobe, and slipped out of the ballroom through the archway he had entered it through earlier. He walked past a couple that was coming in, and was wondering if he would be able to get past the butler at the door. He doubted it – that meant he had to stay; if Atobe found out he ditched, it'd mean hell.

Niou spotted a door that was cracked open. He looked over his shoulder – no one was looking – and entered the small room, expecting to find it empty. It wasn't. A barefoot girl was lying on the loveseat, black cocktail dress sliding down her thighs to show what Niou was sure had to be red lace. Her heels were sitting on the floor.

Niou closed the door behind him, and the girl sat up, her hair falling down over her shoulders. She swung her legs over the loveseat, pulling her dress back down. "I didn't see anything," Niou told her.

"You're lying." Niou raised his eyebrow. He was lying, but how did she know? She smiled at his cluelessness. "My dad's a lawyer. Call it a sixth sense."

"You're Sato Ree."

She nodded slowly. "Yup. Let me guess, Atobe invited you because we've met once?"

"Basically." He leaned back against the door, crossing his arms. "And I'm Niou Masaharu, thanks for asking."

She pivoted in the loveseat, lying down again. Just like before, her dress slid down her thighs, showing just a hint of her underwear again. "I was escaping those idiots. So, if you don't mind, leave."

"I'm staying," Niou declared. He headed over to an armchair that was shoved into a corner of the small room, fiddling with his bowtie. He figured they were in one of Atobe's studies. There were several bookcases, as well as a trophy case, and a chess table. "Nice hiding place."

She probably rolled her eyes, but Niou couldn't quite see. "Why are you still here?"

"I don't know anyone in there," Niou said, as though it was the most obvious thing. He looked at the chess table. "You like chess?"

"Yes, but I'm not playing."

"Why not? Do you have something better to do?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"Not playing with you."

"Truth-or-dare-strip chess? If you lose a piece, you do truth or dare. If it's on a white space, it's a true. If it's on a black space, it's a dare. When you lose the king, you strip one piece of clothing. You can choose not to answer a question, but you have to take off a piece of clothing."

She was silent for a moment. Then she sat up and turned at the same time. Within the blink of an eye, she was on her feet, pulling her dress down. There was no way to lie and say he didn't see anything that time.

"You won't be smirking when you're in your underwear, rich boy."

.

Sato was first to lose a piece. A pawn on a white space – truth: "Did you know this was a birthday party for you? Atobe said it was a surprise party."

"Of course I knew," she said, as though it was obvious. "I'm not an idiot."

Niou twirled her pawn in his fingers. "So says the person who agreed to strip out of a piece of clothing when all they're wearing is a dress and underwear."

.

She lost the second piece as well. A knight on a white space – truth: "Why did you come if you knew this was your birthday party?"

"Because I really don't give a damn about the day that I was born. No one cares, really. There's no point. We celebrate getting a year closer to death. I don't get it. I figured I might as well get jewelry for surviving another year."

.

Niou lost his first piece. A bishop on a black space – dare: "When I take your king, drop your pants."

"And if you don't take my king? Which you won't," he reassured her.

She shrugged. "The dare becomes invalid."

.

She lost another piece. Another pawn on a white space – truth: "Why are you smiling, even though I appear to be the better chess player?"

She just kept smiling. "Because you're not."

.

She lost her king-side rook on a white space – truth: "Ever been skinning dipping?"

She twirled his bishop in her fingers, a teasing smile on her lips. "Have you?"

"Yes, but that's not the question," he said. "If you don't answer, you start stripping now."

She moved her remaining knight, and then said, "No. Your turn."

.

She lost another pawn on a white space – truth: "What is the stupidest thing you've done of your own free will?"

"This game," she responded quickly. She moved a pawn right next to Niou's queen – a white space. When he didn't take it without hesitation, she smirked. "Do I need to say 'no balls,' or is it just implied?"

He took it. "Why is this the stupidest thing you've done?"

She shrugged, putting her finger on another pawn. She rocked it back and forth, thinking, planning. "Because even though I don't like people, I try not to judge them. The way someone handles himself under pressure says a lot about them. The way they play chess says even more. I just met you, and I'm already judging everything about you."

Niou felt her eyes on him. "How am I doing?"

She moved her pawn. "You'll have to take another piece if you want an answer."

.

He had been screwed from the start.

She had been right. She was the better player. Her poker face was out of this world. She had an offensive set up that appeared defensive, and purposefully avoided placing any of her pieces on black spaces. After losing several pieces, Niou had taken on an attack-formation with his pieces.

He lost his second bishop on a white space – truth: "Why did you come to this party?"

Niou looked down at the board. He hated being tricked. When he didn't answer, she gently nudged him under the table with her bare foot. He looked up. "I don't know why I came. I guess because I was hoping you'd throw wine at Atobe again."

"You don't like him, do you?"

"One question per piece."

"You'll move your queen to protect your king, which is in check, and I'll take it with my queen."

He looked at the board. Damn this girl. He moved her queen so it was two spaces away from his king (a white space), then handed her his queen. "I don't like Atobe."

"Why?"

"One question –"

"You'll move your rook to take my queen. I'll answer my question after you answer yours."

"Because," Niou hissed, taking her queen, giving her his rook, "he is everything the media expects a CEO's kid to be. He's stuck up, too good for everyone, slides by because he had the best when he was a kid, and has a picture perfect family. My question: why did you dare me to drop my pants if I lose?"

"I thought it'd be funny." She moved her pawn, taking one of Niou's. A black space. "I dare you to tell me what you got me for my birthday."

"I'll go get it for you, if you want," Niou said. "It's the only fruity looking present in the batch."

"Alright."

"One second," he mumbled. He picked up his knight, taking out the pawn she had just moved. "I dare you to come with me."

She sighed and stood up, heading over to the loveseat to get her heels. She slipped into them, test-tapping them to make sure her feet wouldn't slide out. Before the heels, she was fairly tall. With them, she was nearly as tall as Niou.

"We're doing this Bond and Spade style," Niou told her. He made his hands into a gun, looking left and right. "Your code name is Samantha Spade. I'm Bond, James Bond. Where's your gun, Spade?"

"I didn't know it was possible to swap brains with a monkey," she said. He pointed his hand gun at her. She sighed, putting her hands together, pointer fingers out. "Don't make me go double agent, Bond."

Niou headed for the door, opening it. He stuck his head out, looked up and down the hall, and nodded at Sato. Then Niou broke into song and Sato broke out laughing.

_"There's a man who leads a life of danger.  
To everyone he meets he stays a stranger.  
With every move he makes, another chance he takes.  
Odds are he won't live to see tomorrow."_

He turned, glaring at Sato as they headed into the hallway. Niou practically jumped the wall, pressing his back to it, hand gun by his face. "Keep it down, Spade! You're such a rookie!"

She tried to stifle her laughter, but when Niou started to wiggle against the wall as he walked, she couldn't. Then he began to sing again.

_"Secret agent man!  
Secret agent man!  
They've given you a number,  
and taken away your name."_

They slipped into the ballroom undetected, according to Niou. He unclasped his hands, walking straight through a crowd of people, glancing at his watch from time to time. He slid to the gift table, winking at Sato as he said, "See, Spade, it's not that hard. Now locate the bomb. It's the gayest looking thing here, according to Control."

She picked up the pink bag, and Niou snatched it from her. He pointed at both his eyes, then at the archway, then shook his head, made a butterfly with his hands, and then went cross-eyed. She raised her eyebrows.

"Spade, remember the song!"

"Refresh my memory."

Niou took in a deep breath, and began to sing again, only softer. He kept looking around, as though they were being watched. She rolled her eyes.

_"Beware of pretty faces that you find.  
A pretty face can hide an evil mind.  
Oh, be careful what you say. You'll give yourself away.  
Odds are you won't live to see tomorrow."_

She nodded, made a gun with her hands at her side, and began to move through the crowd. Niou followed her. When they reached the archway, Niou practically shoved her against the wall, his body close to hers. She could feel his breath. He could smell her perfume. He looked back into the ballroom. Atobe had his back to them.

"We've been compromised," Niou said.

Then he moved away from her, sprinting towards the study. Even while holding the bag, he managed to make a gun with his hands as he belted out:

_"Secret agent man!  
Secret agent man!  
They've given you a number,  
and taken away your name."_

The door closed behind him. Sato rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way.

When the door opened, Niou was sitting at the loveseat she had been on earlier, one arm behind the sofa. "Why, Spade, I never knew you had such... fire in you."

She walked over to the loveseat, slipping out of her heels. She sat down next to him, sitting on one of her legs. He smiled and handed her the gift.

"It's bomb free, I promise."

She took the bag, pulling the green paper off the top. She pulled out a teddy bear, setting the bag down by her heels. She pulled the envelope out of its hands, opening it up.

"Read it out loud," Niou said.

"What are you, five?" He grinned. She read it out loud: "'I don't know who the hell you are, but Atobe made me come. I figured maybe I could make the birthday girl smile. Sincerely, Niou Masaharu.'"

She put the card and envelope with the bag, and then looked at the bear. It was brown, standard size, and extra fluffy. She saw something glitter in the light, and moved aside the fur on its neck. Hanging around the bear's neck was a silver chain with an owl pendent – a diamond owl with a bow of pink sapphires on its head.

"I know jewelry is common, but I figured it's not that bad," Niou said, shrugging as much as his position allowed. "My friend told me girls like these owl things."

She smiled at the bear, and then at him. "Thanks, Bond."

"No problem, Spade."

.

They seemed to have forgotten about the game of chess. Niou really didn't mind because she would have won at the rate they were playing, which meant dropping his pants. He did not want her calculating eyes looking him over.

They were sitting on the loveseat, just talking about nothing, everything, anything. He told her about how he played tennis, how they always beat Atobe's team, how his best friend was his partner. She didn't share much about herself, and when she did talk she was very careful about choosing her words, like she didn't want to tell him anything.

Before they knew it, they heard someone shouting Sato's name. She got up and headed over to the door barefoot, peeking out into the hallway. Oshitari was walking down the hall, hands in his pockets like he was above the world, shouting her name.

"I think they want me to do the cake," she said, pulling her head back in before Oshitari saw her. She sighed. "I don't want to."

"Then don't." Niou got up and walked over to her. He held his hand out, smiling when she didn't take it. "This house is big enough. It'll be fun."

She hesitated, probably wondering whether or not this high school boy was insane, and then took his hand. He rushed for the door, dragging her behind him, sticking his tongue out at Oshitari as they ran past him.

"I don't have my shoes!" Sato told him when they got into the ballroom.

"It doesn't matter." Niou looked left and right, spotted another hallway, and ran. He felt her grip on his hand tighten, but he didn't care. He didn't know where he was going, but when she started laughing it didn't matter. He felt like he was in a movie. A terrible romantic comedy that girls like, but a movie nonetheless.

At the end of the hallway, they took a left, then a right, then another left. It was like a maze. Eventually, Niou opened a door and pulled them inside. It was the same size as the study, only it was full of old movie posters with a bar and a billiards table.

"Game – room?" Sato suggested. She was out of breath.

"I think it's a game room..."Niou flicked on the lights. "Sorry 'bout that. I run a lot."

She laughed weakly. "I think we lost them, though."

Niou walked over to the billiards table, running his hand along the wood. He had a similar table back at his house, but the felt was red, not green like Atobe's. "Do you play?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. The one time my dad tried to teach me, I hit a ball through a glass case. Never again."

Niou smiled, eyes wondering around the room. "Cards?" he asked, looking at the round table. "I play a mean game of go-fish."

"Regular cards? No stripping?"

"Regular cards," he promised. He moved over to the table and she followed him. It took him a moment to figure out where the cards were – in a small box above the fireplace. He sat down at the table next to her. "You're only good at chess, right?"

"I played chess with my dad every Friday night until I started university. Now I only play him during my breaks," she said. She took the cards from him, pulling them out of the box. "I haven't played cards since I was a kid."

"You're strange, you know that?" She shuffled the cards, not paying any attention to him. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, but excuse me for not answering when someone calls me strange," she said. She began to deal the cards, and then set the deck between them. "It's not very polite to call a lady strange."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Niou said as he picked up his cards. "You're just... strange. One second your Samantha Spade and laughing, the next you're closed off. I don't get it."

She didn't say anything besides: "Got any aces?"

He handed her the ace of spades and sunk into his chair.

.

After three games of go-fish (Niou won the first two, Sato the third), Sato began to pack the cards back into the box. Niou got up and stretched his arms above his head. He began to walk around the room, examining movie posters that were in languages he didn't know. He tugged at his bowtie, letting it hang undone around his neck.

"There's a record player," Niou said, fingers running over the old machine. He began to go through the records which were stacked next to it. "Jazz."

"Put it on if you want," Sato said. She reached the top of the fireplace with ease, putting the cards away. When Niou wasn't looking, she slipped the ace of spades into her bra.

Niou put on an old jazz record, the sounds of a soprano saxophone and a trombone filling the room. Niou walked over to where Sato was and bowed. "May I have this dance, Spade?"

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile. "Of course, Bond."

Niou stood back up. When she took his hand (for what felt like the umpteenth time that night), he spun her around so her dress flew up. He snickered. She would have told him to grow up, but he spun her away from him before she could.

"You dance?" she asked as he twirled her back in.

"Nope. I just watch a lot of spy movies. You?"

"No."

They spun and kicked and laughed and shimmied. Niou began to do something that looked like a demented robot move, which made Sato smile into her hand. Then he pulled her back into his arms, rocking them slowly back and forth. He picked the fastest part of the song to start slow dancing, which only made the whole situation ten times funnier.

"You know," Niou began, "I thought you would be a bitch. The only thing I knew about you was that you tossed wine in Atobe's face."

"I had just broken up with my boyfriend." Sato put her face into his neck – she was too tall to even rest it comfortably on his shoulder, even without heels. Niou wasn't quite sure why she did it, but he went with it. "That's the only reason I came tonight. Because I felt bad."

"I see. Well, that's a perfectly good excuse. I can imagine breaking up would leave someone in a wine throwing mood."

"Haven't you ever broken up? A jock like you should have lots of girlfriends."

"I don't really date." Niou shrugged. The record was skipping, but neither seemed to care. "I go on dates and stuff, but I've never had a long term relationship. I've never liked a girl that much."

"There's nothing wrong with that," she said. She pulled her head out of his neck and looked up at him. She hesitated before saying, "Dating is hard for someone like me. I don't like people that much – more often than not they're terrible."

"I've noticed. I think that's the longest sentence you've said all night," Niou teased.

"But when it's easier to open up when someone makes you smile." Niou wiggled his eye brows. She sighed and shook her head. "You're impossible."

"So you'd go out with me?"

"No," she replied without hesitation.

"Why not? I make you smile."

"Opening up and smiling are two different things. I told you earlier, chess tells a lot about people. I know more about you than you think." She pulled away from him and headed for the door. "I think we've played hookie for long enough. Let's go get some cake."

Niou slipped his hands into his pockets and followed her out of the room. They left the record player on as their own little gift to Atobe.

.

The two bumped into Mukahi and Akutagawa on their way back to the ballroom. Mukahi complained about them messing up Atobe's schedule and how Atobe took it out on them. "Like it's our fault you had to play Romeo and Juliet," Mukahi muttered.

"They both die," Niou reminded him.

"I'm hoping you do sometime soon," Mukahi said bitterly.

"Still mad that Hiroshi and I beat you and Oshitari last year during Nationals?" Niou asked with a bit of a grin.

Mukahi probably would have punched him right then and there, but they were within view of the ballroom. Sato headed over to Atobe, while Niou and the others mixed in with the crowd.

The cake was gorgeous (well, for a cake). It was four layers tall with sugar flowers every other inch. Atobe made some speech, which bored everyone to tears, but the cake was worth it. Each layer was a different flavor – red velvet, plain yellow, chocolate, and some other kind that had raspberry filling. It was worth listening to Atobe.

Everyone gathered around the present table with their plates of cake (Niou was on his second piece), watching as she opened her gifts. Most were pretty standard, though one girl did get her a dress. It had been the only interesting gift, and it wasn't even that interesting at all.

Sato thanked everyone and went on with her own speech – thanking them, telling them how much it meant. Niou had to keep himself from laughing at how cheesy and fake it was. Once she finished, Atobe did a quick toast to her, then everyone went back to dancing and talking. Niou headed up to the present table to help her pick up her things, but she just sighed and said, "Atobe is sending them to my apartment tomorrow."

"Isn't he a gentleman?" Niou held out a forkful of cake. "Raspberry, try it."

She put his fork into her mouth and shrugged. "It's okay."

"You wanna hang out here or run off again?"

"I really just want to go home," she said. She ran a hand through her hair, and then began to walk her way through the crowd. She was the only one who was barefoot, but she didn't seem to care. Niou followed her, shoving his now-empty plate into someone's hands before leaving the ballroom.

Niou opened the door to the study. She walked in, pulling the ace of spades out of her bra before Niou could see her. She walked over to a desk, wrote something on the card, and then concealed it in her palm. Then she headed for the loveseat to get her shoes and Niou's bagged gift.

"Come on, Spade," Niou said, leaning against the door frame. "Were you just faking those smiles? You seemed to be having fun. Just stick around to the end of the party."

"Bond –" she smiled at him "– I have a paper I need to finish writing tomorrow, and I'd like to get some sleep so I don't fail."

"If you must, Miss Samantha Spade. It would be my honor to walk you outside."

He stood up, holding out his arm for her. She rolled her eyes but took it anyways. They walked slowly, talking in terrible spy-movie-lingo until they made it to the front door. Niou let go of her arm when the butler told them to wait for a moment as he disappeared into a large closet.

Shortly after Niou mumbled, "We must escape in five minutes, or the bomb will explode," the butler handed them their jackets. She wrapped hers around her shoulders, not even bothering to button it. She held Niou's for him, allowing him to easily slip his arms through. When he turned to face her, she tapped his breast pocket, sliding the card inside.

"Shall we go?" Niou asked. He offered her his elbow, which she hooked her arm through. They walked outside, the cool January air wrapping around them.

"It's nice out," Sato said, looking up at the moon. "I've never understood the sunset thing. A sunset is the universal symbol for death or the hero's loss. It's in literature that dates back hundreds and hundreds of years. I like the moon more – time, illumination, balance, renewal."

"I thought you did history, not literature."

She smiled at him, barely needing to look up to see his eyes. "Literature is part of history. If you want to know the ability of a civilization, look at what they wrote and how they conduct themselves under pressures, such as war and famine."

Niou nodded – history was boring to him, no matter the context. "What did you learn about me from that game of chess?"

"You want the truth?"

Niou nodded again. She slipped her arm away from his. She pulled her coat tighter around herself, her smile dropping. "You think you're better than everyone. You judge too quickly, and you assume no one thinks in the same manner as yourself. You created an offensive position under the belief that I couldn't break it and that you could break me. You never thought I could trick you.

"You have a dominant personality. You push your thoughts onto others, pressing until something goes your way. You insisted on chess, even though I said I didn't want to. You insisted that I stayed, even though I said that I wanted to leave.

"You think that you're different from them, Atobe and the others. You're not. In your mind, because you're not stuck up, because you don't look down on people, you're better than them, even though you look down on Atobe and anyone in a higher class who acts like they should. You answer questions that aren't asked, such as giving your name, because you assume anyone who could be friends with Atobe is above asking names. In reality, you're even more stuck up than they are. At least they realize they're being obnoxious.

"That's all."

Niou stared at her. Her voice didn't change like his did when he was lying. As far as he could tell, she was telling the truth. He called her out anyways: "You're lying."

She put her free hand on his shoulder then kissed him slowly. It was the last thing Niou had expected her to do, but he wasn't against it. Her lips were slick with a lipstick Niou hadn't even noticed she was wearing until that moment. She pulled her head back just as quickly as she had moved it in, and then began to walk away.

"Thanks for a good night, Bond," she called over her shoulder. "Check your breast pocket!"

"You're lying!"

Her heels clicked on the stone as she walked away.

Curious, Niou reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out the ace of spades. Along the side was scribbled a phone number and 'Samantha Spade'. He couldn't help a smirk from forming on his lips as he put the card back into his pocket.

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter was different. What did you guys think of Sato Ree (because I have yet to make up my mind about her)? Of the chapter? **


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27.**

"Tennis is_ not_ supposed to be this hard," Yukimura complained. He was shifting through the papers on his desk while the members changed for afternoon practice. Sanada was outside watching those who changed early run their laps. Yanagi was in the office with Yukimura, double-checking the schedule for the day.

"After laps, the first years will work on form, the second years on their swings, and the third years are doing serves and volleys. Regulars are to run fifty extra laps to improve stamina. Once regulars have – Seiichi, the fact that you're not listening to me is making me uneasy. I don't like talking and not being listened to."

Yukimura folded his arms and rested his head in them. "I quit."

Yanagi sighed with a small smile. Yukimura quit an average of twenty-six times a year. "Seiichi, you're just tired. Once the new recruits settle in and tournaments start, you won't have time to be tired."

"Thanks for reminding me," he mumbled. He lifted his head and readjusted his headband. "I bet Niou is harassing Genchirou right now."

"Sexual or plain harassment?"

Yukimura smiled and got up. "I bet Niou's found a way to do both."

Yanagi smiled along with Yukimura, heading out of the office, through the locker room, and out to the courts. It had warmed up slightly with the sun out, but every member of the team was wearing sweats. Even the new recruits, whose uniforms came in yesterday, were wrapped up like killer bees. Sanada watched from the hill as some of the newer members struggled to finish their laps.

Yukimura headed over to the hill, sitting down on the cool, damp grass next to Sanada. Yanagi went to jog warm up laps. Yukimura didn't bother – he knew he would be too busy instructing to practice.

"Anything out of the usual, Genchirou?" Yukimura asked as he examined the courts.

"Not particularly," Sanada answered. "Hayashi and his friends were walking laps towards the end. Niou tripped them."

"Did you assign Niou extra laps?"

Niou, appearing out of goddamn nowhere, sat down next to Yukimura. "He was going to," Niou said, answering Yukimura's question, "but I reminded him of something."

"Of what?" Yukimura asked curiously.

"That no matter where you go, there will always be someone who makes you want to punch them in the face," Niou said.

Yukimura laughed, falling onto his bag. He clutched at his stomach as squeaks came out of his mouth instead of laughter. He was having a fit of something or another. "I think I broke a rib!"

"You okay, Buchou?" Niou asked. "It really wasn't that funny..."

"He's stressed. I suppose this could be a partial breakdown," Sanada said as he glanced down at Yukimura. The captain had rolled onto his side. Niou poked Yukimura between the shoulder blades. Sanada glared at him. "Niou, get back to practice."

"Aye, aye, Fukubuchou!" Niou shouted with a salute. He got up and jogged over to where Yagyuu was sitting to re-tie his shoes before starting up their extra laps.

Sanada looked down at Yukimura and waited. Thirty or so seconds later, Yukimura sat back up and wiped his eyes. He frowned as he came to his senses. "I'm going insane, aren't I?"

"Why don't you take a day off?" Sanada suggested. "A little extra sleep won't kill you."

"So says Mr. Under-eye-circles." Yukimura poked Sanada's cheek. Sanada gently slapped his hand away. "Really, Genchirou, are you sure everything is alright? You look like death."

Sanada sighed. "Seiichi, I have told you a million times that I am fine. You're acting as though I said I love Tezuka."

"Do you? Is this a love thing?" Yukimura teasingly asked.

Sanada didn't seem as amused as Yukimura. "No. It is not a love thing. I am perfectly content being single, thank you very much."

Yukimura bumped his shoulder with Sanada's. "Come on, I was kidding. Are we still hanging out after school? Renji mentioned something about a new book coming out today."

Sanada turned and looked over the courts. Yanagi was telling everyone what to do, handing out jobs for the regulars, even though they were still running their extra laps. "I don't know, Seiichi. I think I'm just going to go home."

Yukimura nodded once. "Okay."

.

"Hiroooshiii."

"Niou-kun."

"'roshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"We have laps," Yagyuu reminded his partner. Niou rolled his neck and the two set out, running their extra fifty laps to help improve stamina or some crap like that. "So, Niou-kun, how was Atobe's party? You didn't stop by the student council room this morning so I haven't heard anything about it."

"The usual."

"The usual being?" Yagyuu hated it when people answered with "the usual," and Niou knew that. Yagyuu could never quite figure out what the usual was.

"Oh, nothing much. I ditched Atobe, found the birthday girl, played truth-or-dare-strip chess, pretended to be James Bonds, and got I got her phone number plus a kiss." Niou shrugged with his signature smirk.

"I see. Do you plan to call her?"

"I don't know. Probably not. She basically called me a narcissist."

"I approve of her."

Niou punched him in the arm, running ahead to get away from Yagyuu. Niou ended up tiring himself out and was panting like a first year by the time he finished his laps.

.

Marui slumped over to the bench Jackal was sitting at after finishing his laps. Jackal had been the first regular to finish laps, like always. Marui collapsed next to Jackal, chugging half a bottle of water in one gulp.

"And this is why I told Akira it's impossible," Marui muttered as he pressed the bottle to his lips again.

"What's impossible?" Jackal asked curiously.

Marui sighed. He set his bottle down on the ground without putting the lid on, pushing his damp bangs out of his face. "Akira and I were talking, and she said I'm dependent and blah-blah-blah."

"You are, but continue."

"Really, Jackal? Do you want me to punch you?" Jackal rolled his eyes. Marui continued: "She said it would be a good trick play if I played defense and you played offense. But it's impossible. I just don't have the stamina you do to run back and forth, and you don't have enough offensive moves."

Jackal was silent for a moment before asking, "Suzuki came up with this?"

"Yeah."

"It could work," he said softly, as though he was thinking out loud. "If you could build up your stamina and I learn one or two more moves, we could do it. It would be a good trick play, but we could only use it once because it won't be as efficient as our regular formation..."

"You're seriously considering it?" Marui asked. "You can run, like, a hundred and fifty laps without getting tired, Jackal. I can't do that."

"You don't need to do that. You just need to run enough to protect the court. I could work on my snake. I could even learn one of your moves. I've seen you do them enough times."

"Jackal, this is insane!" Marui practically shouted. "Like you said, we could only do it once. I mean, I'm the volley specialist! _Come on!_"

"Buchou said we need new formations. Unless you want to do that creepy butt sex thing those Hyotei guys do, there's really nothing else we can do," Jackal said. "We have all basic formations down, as well as the Australian formation. This would be our trump card in Nationals!"

"We'd need a doubles pair to practice with," Marui pointed out. "The last time we played against Niou and Yagyuu it turned into a death match. We can't use them."

"I remember," Jackal mumbled. "I had a bruise from Yagyuu's Laser for a month."

"_Exactly! _And we can't risk practicing on street courts because other teams use those. We don't have anyone to practice with. How sad. We can't do it. I think I'm gonna cry."

Jackal rolled his eyes. Marui's voice oozed sarcasm. "Bunta, just think about it. Suzuki is smarter than you give her credit for. You always seem to forget that she's a captain, just like Yukimura. You don't become a captain on skill alone."

Marui sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll think about it, but I won't do anything until we find someone to practice with."

"You totally just caved."

"Shut up," Marui muttered. He stood up, his foot hitting his water bottle. It rolled to the ground, water pouring out of it. He tossed his head back and groaned. "Daaaamn it."

.

Yukimura stayed outside to make sure the first and second years cleaned up at the end of practice. Yukimura double checked the courts for stray balls before heading in. He changed quickly, almost falling over as he tugged his pants up because he somehow managed to slip both legs into one pant leg.

Niou smirked. "It's just like sex, Buchou. One appendage per hole."

After everyone else had changed and left, Yukimura and Yanagi locked up. Sanada had left after changing, not even bothering to say goodbye to his friends. Yukimura didn't mind. He figured Sanada must have something on his mind, so he didn't pry.

"Off to the book store," Yukimura said in a sing-song voice as they walked through the school gates. "I really hope that new book is in. I need something to read during slow days at the store. I might skim the mystery section..."

"You're acting like a child in a candy shop, Seiichi," Yanagi said. "I'm beginning to believe that you enjoy reading more than I do."

"Renji, I doubt _anyone_ likes reading more than you do."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Yukimura smiled.

* * *

**A/N: What do you guys think of my characterization of the Rikkaidai boys? Are they complex characters that seem real, are they carbon copies of everything else in the fandom, or are they something else? Be honest. I'm a fan of constructive criticism.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28.**

Kirihara liked Sundays. There was no school and no tennis, which meant hanging out with his best friends. He, Miyagi and Tanaka were sitting on a sofa in the mall, waiting until the movie they had planned to see started. Kirihara sat on one end of the bench while Miyagi and Tanaka were sitting  
back to back on the other, Tanaka's legs propped up on the ace's lap.

"I'm bored," Kirihara said. "Can we please do something else?"

"I like people watching," Miyagi said. People watching: a socially acceptable form of stalking. "I mean, look at that guy. He's a bobble head walker. I bet he thinks he's cool, waving his head around. 'Hey, look at me, I look like a douche. It's like my vertebrae are jell-o. Have my babies. They shall have jell-o necks. We will create an army of douche bag bobble head walkers.'"

"Technically jell-o is bone, though," Kirihara pointed out. "Animal bone, but in jelly form."

"You ruin everything, Akaya," Miyagi muttered. "You're the worst people watcher ever_. Ever._ You couldn't come up with a joke if a dinosaur walked through the doors."

"Challenge accepted," Kirihara said. "Point someone out. Make it hard. Give it to me."

"That sounded so damn wrong, Akaya," Tanaka mumbled.

"Quiet! I'm trying to concentrate!" Miyagi half-shouted. Miyagi looked around, but he didn't see anyone of interest. The guy with the spiky green hair was too easy – his hair looked like a tree. The girl with the cell phone who looked like a six year old was easy, too. Who could he pick?

"Her," Miyagi said suddenly. "The girl with the zebra hoodie whose back is towards us."

"Really? That's easy," Kirihara said. "It's not like girls who wear animal print are any sexier. It's kinda disturbing how girls think that stuff is attractive. No one wants to have sex with a zebra. That just sounds uncomfortable. Is that even possible? And cheetahs? _Ouch._ Fangs near my junk is a no-no."

"He got you, Satoshi," Tanaka said. "That was good."

"Fine." Miyagi rolled his eyes. "Miho, your turn. Pick someone."

"That girl looks like she got banged by a box of crayons," Tanaka said, watching as a junior high girl walked by. "Red lipstick and blue eye shadow with raccoon eyeliner. I'd go lesbian for her any day."

"Sexy," Miyagi said sarcastically. "I love a good red crayon, but greens are the best. They're the hotties with the bodies."

Kirihara snorted. "Then obviously I'm a green crayon. I mean, they say you are what you eat, but I don't recall eating a sexy beast today."

Tanaka was grinning like an idiot. "Why are we so awesome?"

"Why is there a sofa in the middle of a mall?" Miyagi asked. "Life has many questions, Miho, many of which we'll never know."

"Like how many licks it takes to the center of a tootsie-pop?" Tanaka asked. "I tried to count once, gave up, and ate it. It was worth it."

"Miho, Miho, Miho... Three licks, according to Mr. Owl," Miyagi answered.

"Why do parents always walk in during the awkward sex scene?" Kirihara asked.

"Because the universe hates us," Miyagi said. "You know what?"

"What?" Tanaka and Kirihara asked in unison.

"We should totally be philosophers. We'd be the best damn philosophers in the world. I like that word. _Philosophers._ It sounds like some bad ass dinosaur."

The three couldn't stop laughing.

.

They headed to the movie theater, popcorn and overpriced sodas in hand, sitting in the middle. The movie had been out for quite some time and most people had already seen it. They were going to see it earlier, but Tanaka had her boyfriend and Kirihara had tennis. It was hard for the three of them to find time for each other, even on Sundays.

"Wait, which armrest is mine?" Tanaka asked, not sure where to put her soda.

"I'm using the left," Kirihara said. He looked over Tanaka to see where Miyagi had put it. Miyagi was using the one on his left. "Okay, put yours on the left, Miho."

"We always do the right!" she complained. Kirihara picked up his soda and put it in the cup holder on his right. Miyagi did the same. Tanaka smiled, setting hers in place on her right. She grabbed the popcorn container from Miyagi, sticking her tongue out when he pouted and said, "I was eating that."

"We're sharing, you moron." Kirihara picked up a piece of popcorn, tossing it into Miyagi's hair. "Now shut up. Previews are starting."

The first preview was for a children's movie and the second for a superhero movie. Half way through the third preview, Tanaka whispered, "Didn't that movie already come out?"

"No," Miyagi whispered back, "that's a sequel."

"These previews are confusing the crap out of me," she complained. "All of these movies came out already. There are too many sequels. I can't keep these things straight."

"Maybe you're from the future?" Kirihara suggested softly.

"I am from the future," Tanaka said with a robotic voice, "and all of these movies will suck."

The people in the back told them to shut up.

.

The movie wasn't that great. It was probably because everyone told them it would be amazing and they had such high expectations. Whatever the reason, they didn't care.

"Arcade?" Kirihara suggested. Tanaka looked at him like he had just suggested they jump off a cliff. Kirihara shrugged. "Just throwing it out there."

"There's that new glow in the dark mini-golf thing," she said. "We could go there."

"Lunar Golf?" Miyagi asked. She nodded. He smirked. "Glow in the dark balls. Oh, the sex jokes that shall be made."

"We're not going there," Tanaka said. "Let's just walk around and go shopping."

"Alright," the boys muttered. Shopping to girls was perfectly normal. Shopping to guys was like being castrated.

.

They ended spending most of the day at the mall. Tanaka kept dragging them into shops, picking up something from almost every store there. Miyagi found a neon blue sweatshirt that looked like a dinosaur if you pulled the hood up – he bought it. After they finished shopping, they headed to the food court.

"They need a Sweet Treats here," Tanaka said. "I want lemonade."

"The pizza place has lemonade," Miyagi pointed out.

"Everyone okay with pizza?" Tanaka asked. They nodded.

So they headed into a small pizza place, arguing over the toppings they would get. They ended up getting half cheese, half pineapple. They somehow managed to carry the pizza, drinks and bags to a table without tripping and making fools of themselves.

"I'm officially broke," Tanaka said as she took a sip of her lemonade. "It was worth it."

"Why do girls need so many shoes anyways?" Kirihara asked. "You bought three new pairs. Is that really necessary?"

"Yes."

The boys rolled their eyes. "Girls," Miyagi muttered.

Tanaka kicked him gently as she grabbed a piece of cheese pizza. "Hey, I let you get pineapple even though I wanted pepperoni. Be nice to me."

"Who doesn't love pineapple pizza?" Miyagi asked.

"People who have taste buds," Kirihara said.

"Dude, don't dis my pizza tastes."

Kirihara picked up a piece of pizza. "I'll dis your taste in pizza if I want to. Obviously classic cheese is the best. Alliteration is a must in pizza toppings."

"Perfect pepperoni," Tanaka said. "Mine works."

"You took mine. There aren't any other good p-words!" Miyagi shouted. He thought for a moment, Tanaka and Kirihara softly counting down from ten. When they hit the number three, he said, "Probably-the-best-stuff-on-earth pineapple."

"Fail," Kirihara said.

"Epic fail," Tanaka corrected.

Miyagi took a bit of his probably-the-best-stuff-on-earth pineapple pizza while his friends laughed.

* * *

**A/N: Anyone who says conversations like this never happen need to meet my friends. And lots of love to my insane beta, xxTemarixx, who is the reason I'm updating this regularly. Check out her stories if you get the chance.  
**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29.**

Lying on the hill during morning practice, Yukimura stared up at the sky. His phone buzzed in his hand and he held it over his face, smiling at the text message Koga had sent. He brought up his other hand to type a reply. Yanagi watched the members as they did basic conditioning – first years squats; second years push-ups; third years crunches – under Sanada's watchful eye.

"We should revise the regulars' schedules to prepare for tournament season," Yanagi said.

"That sounds like a good idea," Yukimura mumbled. He hit 'send' and dropped his arms, his phone lying on his stomach. "I need to meet with my doctor before I add anything to my schedule. I'll get my dad to make an appointment sometime within the next two months."

"That'd be wise," Yanagi agreed. "We'll have to hold regular-challenges before the tournament in March. I'll set a date and create a signup sheet for those who are interested in becoming regulars."

"Alright." Yukimura grabbed his phone and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. "We should wrap up practice."

"Agreed."

Yukimura stood up and blew his whistle.

.

Yukimura wished he had class with Sanada and Yanagi. It was incredibly boring without them. Sure, the people around him were nice enough and school would always be somewhat boring, but it just wasn't the same. He figured Yanagi took notes all class. Sanada probably took notes in the beginning, but would stop half way through the day.

When the final bell rang, Yukimura waited outside of his classroom. Sanada and Yanagi came walking down the hall together, talking about this or that. The three headed down the hall. They spotted Koga when they walked past the second year hall. Yukimura waved. She smiled and waved awkwardly.

They headed off to practice after that. Yukimura ran laps with everyone else, but sat up on his hill when they were done. Sanada was helping first years with their posture – some of the newbies were still struggling to hold the racquet correctly. Yanagi was watching the second years do racquet swings.

Kirihara found himself with the third years doing serves on Yanagi's orders. Niou was standing off to the side, grinning like he had done something. He always seemed to be doing something.

Kirihara picked up a ball and frowned. He weighed it in his hand. "Marui-senpai, do these balls feel heavier to you?"

Marui snickered. "Akaya, look at the courts."

Kirihara turned and looked. The third years were covered with thin lines of paint – red, black, yellow, blue, pink. Marui took the ball from Kirihara's hand and whacked it across the courts, a stream of pink paint flying out of a small hole.

Kirihara laughed.

"Keep it down," Marui hushed. "Sanada and Yukimura haven't noticed. Yanagi noticed, but I think he's enjoying it."

Kirihara picked up another ball, serving it across the court, yellow paint flying through the air.

Yagyuu was shaking his head at Niou, who was now twirling a paint-covered syringe in his hand. He had skipped last mod, injected the balls with paint, and waited for practice. The force of the serves forced the paint out of the holes. It was simple, yet brilliant.

Someone's ball landed right in front of Kirihara, a stream of yellow squirting onto his pants, right at his groin. Marui snorted. "It looks like you peed your pants!"

Kirihara grabbed another ball. He squeezed it to find the hole, and then pointed it at Marui. He squeezed as hard as he could, a jet of red hitting Marui in the face. "You got a little something on your face, Senpai."

Marui picked up another ball, squeezing it without checking for the hole. Blank paint shot out onto his shirt. Kirihara was practically crying from laughter.

"Marui, watch out," Jackal warned. Where he came from, Marui wasn't sure. It didn't matter because a ball with an incredible spin was flying right at them. Marui covered his face, and Jackal looked down. Kirihara didn't move quickly enough. When Marui and Jackal looked, Kirihara's face was covered in pink.

Hayashi laughed from the other side of the court. "See, tennis isn't that hard."

Kirihara and Marui served balls at the same time, the pink from Kirihara's ball and the black from Marui's ball spraying the net and Hayashi. Jackal served a ball into the sky, paint raining down on them. People had to cover their mouths to keep themselves from laughing and eating paint.

Everything was going perfectly until Kirihara hit a knuckle serve, the blue paint flying out in a spiral. The paint flew to where the first years were, hitting Sanada's back. Niou clutched at his stomach, doubled over in laughter. Marui snorted into his hand. Jackal wasn't even trying to hide his laughter.

Sanada turned to see what was going on when he felt something hit his back. His eyes went wide. "NIOU!"

Sanada stormed over, stopping in front of Niou. Yukimura sat up on his hill, setting his phone to the side. The courts went silent, balls full of paint oozing in the baskets.

"Nice shirt," Niou commented with his signature Trickster grin. He slipped the syringe he used to fill the balls with into his pocket. "Blue's a good color on you."

"Niou Masaharu," Sanada began, "you're going to buy the club new balls and toss the ones you destroyed. You're going to clean the nets and you're going to wash the courts. I don't care if it takes all night. Do you understand me?"

Niou's grin faltered for a moment. He dropped his voice and whispered, "You can't do that. You wouldn't make anyone else pay for all those balls. It's only because of my father."

"It's an order."

"I hate it when people take advantage of my money," Niou said softly. Niou balled his hands into fists, his grin completely different – it meant Sanada was going to be in hell.

"If I asked, you would have agreed to buying new balls," Sanada reasoned.

"You're right. But you could have had the decency to ask," Niou hissed. "You're an ass."

Yukimura realized the only reason Niou wouldn't be screaming at Sanada's orders was if he was talking about his father. Yukimura decided this could get very bad, very fast. He stood up, rushing down the hill and jogging over.

"Niou!" Yukimura shouted. "Run, and don't stop until I tell you to."

"Buchou, Sanada's trying to –"

"Will you pay for the balls?" Yukimura asked softly.

Niou rolled his eyes. "Yeah."

"Alright. Now run," Yukimura ordered. Niou grumbled and began to jog away. Sanada started to say something, but Yukimura turned and cut him off. "You know why Niou attends this school instead of Hyotei, even though his siblings do. Respect that reason, will you?"

The reason being, Niou didn't want to be used. He grew up around kids of a higher class, kids with no real friends. Niou didn't want that. He wanted friends who liked him for who he was, not what he could buy them on their birthdays. By staying out of Hyotei, no one would assume a rebel like him was the son of N-ware's CEO. By attending Rikkaidai, he could be normal.

Sanada nodded. "Yes, Seiichi. But I'm not apologizing."

"I don't expect you to," Yukimura said. Smiling, he turned to the third years. "Everyone, get a bucket and a brush. You're cleaning the courts until the end of practice. You too, Akaya."

There was a collective groan. Yukimura watched as the third years and Kirihara scrambled to the storage shed and over to the faucets. Sanada went back to the first years. Niou flipped Sanada off during his laps.

.

Every third year took a shower after that. Niou stayed outside, finishing up the cleaning job the other third years had started during practice. Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi waited in Yukimura's office for Niou to finish.

The Trickster clamored into the club room two hours after practice had ended. He opened the door to Yukimura's office, his school uniform stuffed into his school bag. He had paint on every inch of him and his knees were red from rubbing against the courts.

"You shouldn't go on the trains like that," Yanagi said. "We'll stay another ten minutes while you take a shower."

"I'm fine like this. My family driver is picking me up," Niou said. He didn't meet any of their eyes. "I'll order the balls tonight and have them delivered tomorrow."

Niou slammed the door shut on his way out.

Sanada sunk down into the sofa, a long sigh leaving his lips. "I'm going to be the target for the rest of his pranks, aren't I?"

Yanagi nodded curtly. Yukimura pressed his lips together.

.

The three walked to Sanada's house shortly after Niou left. Sanada lived with his family above their dojo, a traditional house full of sliding doors and little rooms. When Yukimura first visited the house and saw swords and diplomas hanging on the wall right after walking in, he was terrified. Now, he was used to it.

They slipped off their shoes and headed upstairs. They could hear the lesson downstairs, young grade students at the beginner's level learning basic positions. They walked through the upper floor to Sanada's room, sliding the door open.

"I can make tea," Sanada offered politely.

Yukimura sat down on Sanada's futon, shrugging. "Only if you want some."

"If it's not a trouble..." Yanagi trailed off with a slight smile.

Sanada left, returning several minutes later with a small tray. He slid his bedroom door closed behind him. The three sat in a comfortable silence, taking small sips out of their cups.

* * *

**A/N: Physics can go screw itself when Niou Masaharu is around. Also, here's the first Temari Note. (Because my beta has that much influence over this story.)**

**T/N: Painted balls hehehe.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30.**

Marui felt like his legs were on fire. Afternoon practice had been harsh. Suzuki even commented that he was walking like he had a stick up his ass on their way home. He couldn't argue. He had done squats the entire practice.

"I'm going to go home. I have to do some practice schedules," Suzuki said when they reached Marui's house. "Tell your family I said, hello."

Marui nodded and waddled up his driveway. He fished his keys out of his bag and opened the door. Haruto and Hikaru's shoes weren't there. Marui figured they had soccer practice. His mother's were there, though. Then again, his mother owned around twenty pairs of shoes so he could never know for sure.

"I'm home!" Marui called as he took off his shoes.

His mother poked her head out of the kitchen, her face beaming. She disappeared for a moment, and then reappeared. She rushed towards him, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Bunta!" his mother shrieked. She wrapped her arms around him, rocking him back and forth. He felt like he was suffocating on her perfume. Suffocating was the same as drowning, only with a different form of matter.

"Mom – can't – breathe!" Marui struggled to say. Forget being a nurse, she should have been a wrestler.

His mother pulled away, shoving a letter in his face. "I didn't mean to read it, but it said 'to the parents of Marui Bunta!' So I read it! You got accepted into Rikkaidai University!"

She hugged him again. Marui laughed, patting her on the back until she eased away again. "Mom, it's not that hard to get in. I told you the entrance exams were easy..."

His mother frowned, gently tapping him on the back of his head. "Don't you dare act like that, Bunta. I've worked my whole live to get you into a nice university so you can have a good life. At least pretend to be excited."

"I'm sorry. I am excited. I'm just tired." Sighing, Marui stepped forward and hugged his mother. "Thank you, Mom. For everything."

His mother had never gone to university. She had planned to, but she became pregnant with him before the semester started. She was forced to get a job and raise him by herself with the occasional check from his father, who stopped sending money when Marui was five. Marui remembered when she would come home late at night and how she would smell like sushi from the restaurant she worked at to pay the rent. She gave up her youth for him.

It was his mother who pulled away from the hug. She wiped at her eyes, a goofy smile on her face.

"Mom," Marui said in an annoyed-son voice. He was smiling, too.

"Go upstairs and do your homework, Mr. University Student," she said. "I bought mini cakes, would you like some? Oh, and some tea?"

"I need to get accepted into university more often," Marui joked.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. I'll bring them up in a second."

She hurried back into the kitchen. Sighing, Marui readjusted his bag and made his way up the stairs.

Suzuki called him twenty minutes later, screaming that she got accepted into Rikkaidai University and several other schools. Marui couldn't imagine what his mother would do if he got accepted into multiple universities. She'd probably buy him an island.

.

Ping.

Marui rolled in his bed. It'd been so long since he heard a pebble against his window. He crawled to the end of his bed, wrapping a sheet around himself before opening the window. He stuck his head out, watching as Suzuki pointed to the house and walked up to the front door. Marui pulled his head back in and closed the window.

Marui changed quickly, combing his hair with his fingers. He didn't know where his comb went. Probably to the place the scissors went whenever he needed a pair. He could find all the useless junk in the world, but when he needed a piece of useless junk, he could never find it.

Suzuki was sitting at the kitchen table, holding an apple in one hand and a banana in the other. Marui opened the fridge, pulling out a small container of milk. "Don't you ever eat at your own house?"

"Yeah. This is my after morning practice snack," she said. "Banana or apple?"

"It's one of my brothers' apples," Marui said. She looked confused. "They only get the mushy kind."

She scrunched up her face and put the apple back. "Yucky."

"Yucky?" Marui grinned.

"You have a milk mustache."

Marui wiped the back of his hand on his upper lip. Then he realized he hadn't even opened the bottle. Suzuki was laughing at his stupidity.

Marui rolled his eyes. "I hate you."

She got up, slipping the fruit into her bag. "Come on. We both have practice."

Marui groaned. "Don't remind me. Yukimura said I have to do the squats I didn't do yesterday today."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

.

Morning practice was about as bad as Marui expected it to be. Yukimura sat up on his hill, making sure everyone did what they were told. The only good thing about practice was that Yanagi and Sanada were on the hill with Yukimura, which meant no one was screaming in his face when he started half-assing his squats.

Niou hadn't done anything all practice. He fiddled with one of the new balls he had purchased, tossing it up into the air and catching it. Yukimura let it slide for the time being. It was only January. They still had time before the real practices began. Besides, he knew better than to irritate Niou when he was frustrated.

"Did you receive acceptance letters yesterday?" Yukimura asked his friends curiously. "I got accepted into all the schools I took exams for. I'm still not quite sure where I'm going to go, though. I heard Yagyuu was accepted to a number of schools. I'm guessing Niou was, too; he tests fairly well."

"I was accepted into Rikkaidai," Sanada said. "I didn't take any other exams."

"I was accepted into Rikkaidai, Tokyo, Osaka, and several others," Yanagi said. He hesitated a moment before adding, "I was also accepted into a study-abroad program in Italy."

"You applied to a study aboard program?" Yukimura asked. At the same time, Sanada asked, "You know Italian?"

"I applied in the fall. There were no entrance exams. They looked at an essay I entered and my grades and such," Yanagi explained. "No, I do not know Italian. I'd fly over several months before the start of the term to learn it. They have an amazing language program there."

"Are you going to go?" Yukimura asked.

"I need to send my reply by the end of March," Yanagi said. "I have not made up my mind."

Yukimura and Sanada stared. They hadn't heard anything about this. It was a shock, to say the least, to learn that their best friend had seriously considered going to Italy for university without telling them, that he still considered going to Italy.

"It's highly unlikely that I will go," Yanagi added. "It's quite expensive, and my sister is going to continue studying in London until she gets her degree. I don't want to be a burden on my parents."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Yukimura asked, like he hadn't heard a word Yanagi had just said. "We're your best friends. Best friends generally tell each other if they want to fly away to another country."

"It's not official," Yanagi repeated. "I wanted to make the decision on my own. I still wish to make the decision on my own."

Without another word, Yukimura blew his whistle, ending practice.

"I understand," Sanada said as they made their way into the locker room. Yanagi smiled and thanked him. Yukimura remained silent.

.

Niou and Yagyuu left the locker room together, talking about this and that as they headed to class. Yukimura had ended practice early so the halls were fairly empty. When Yagyuu said he had to go to the student council room, Niou followed him. Chishu, the first year class president, was inside.

"Chishu-chan?" Yagyuu questioned. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Oh, sorry, Yagyuu-senpai. I left my notebook somewhere in school yesterday, but I didn't know where so I came a bit early to find it. Turns out I left it here." She held up a pink spiral, verifying her claim. "Are we still having a meeting after school?"

Yagyuu nodded. "Yes. It shouldn't take long."

"Okey dokey." Chishu smiled. She headed to the door, the two boys moving so she could walk by. "I'll see you later, Yagyuu-senpai."

When she closed the door behind her, Niou huffed. "Nice to see you, too, Cupcake."

Yagyuu sighed and sat down at the desk, going through papers. "The first year class is having a bake sale. None of the other first year board members besides her are doing much of anything."

"That's great," Niou said sarcastically. He sat on the floor, pressing his back against a wall. "My mom flipped over universities last night."

"Why?"

"I got accepted into Tokyo."

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised. You know, I'm actually smart when I care," Niou muttered. "I think she's happy 'cause my dad went there and all. Kenji called me a nerd."

"It's a good school. You're lucky to be able to attend a school of that caliber. I'll be attending Rikkaidai University."

Yagyuu took the exam for Tokyo University with him. Niou would bet anything that Yagyuu got accepted, too. But Niou knew Yagyuu couldn't afford high-level universities. Yagyuu attended Rikkaidai on scholarships. He had no choice but to attend the university as well.

"I guess." Niou shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "They have a good math department. So does Rikkaidai. I don't know where I'll go. I have a few months to decide. Change of subject: I'm still mad at Sanada for making me buy new balls. Prank War IV has begun."

Yagyuu tried to think back to the previous situations Niou referred to as Prank Wars.

Prank War I: Yukimura v. Niou. First year of junior high. Ended when Niou turned Yukimura's hair orange.

Prank War II: Marui v. Niou. Third year of junior high. Ended when Marui ate a chocolate cake with laxatives in it.

Prank War III: Kirihara v. Niou. Second year of high school. Ended when Niou laced Kirihara's mousse with super glue; Kirihara had feathers in his hair for a week.

Yagyuu wondered what Niou was going to do this time. Secretly, he was looking forward to it.

* * *

**A/N: Prank War IV will be a series of pranks over a long period of time. **


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31.**

The regulars were getting testy. They couldn't start real practice until after the first tournament in March. It was too cold for the regulars to play matches outside – all of the other members would be sitting there freezing to death – and the indoor gym was being used by soccer and other teams. So the regulars sat day after day, helping the other members with basics swings and serves. It was unsettling, being so close to a tournament, yet not having played a match in ages.

"Hiroshi," Niou said as they changed to go home, "wanna head to a tennis club? We can pick up your sister if we need to."

"She's at a friend's house, so I don't see why we can't go," Yagyuu said. "I can't stay out too late, though. I need to study."

"You've already been accepted in university. It won't kill you to take a break," Niou reminded him. He slipped on his jacket, and then shut his locker with his foot. "Come on."

.

They took a train into town, Yagyuu calling Naomi's friend's mother, double checking that his sister had arrived safely. Niou said something about Yagyuu being a worry-wart. Yagyuu didn't reply.

The tennis club Niou took them to had the Atobe Corp. logo on the sign. When they walked inside, Yagyuu felt like they were in a giant futuristic space ship. It wasn't just a tennis club; it was an entire sports facility with dozens of signs and hallways pointing to different areas.

Niou walked up to the front desk, setting his bag down on the counter and digging through the pockets. The lady behind it raised an eyebrow. It was obvious she was thinking they were going to flash a school ID and pretend to be someone important.

"I'll need to see your membership card," the woman said. Her voice was almost as wiry as her hair, Yagyuu thought miserably.

Niou continued to dig through his pockets, mumbling a smart reply when the lady cleared her throat. Finally, Niou found it and handed her his membership card.

She glanced at Niou's picture on the card, up at Niou, and then back to the card. She handed it back to him. "Niou-san, I apologize for not recognizing you," the woman said, not sounding sorry in the least. She glanced at Yagyuu. "And you would be...?"

"He's with me," Niou said. "If there's a problem, I can call my–"

"It's perfectly fine. Hold on a moment," she said. She reached under the counter and pulled out a visitor's badge, handing it to Yagyuu. "Please enjoy your time here, gentlemen. Have a nice day."

Niou grabbed his bag and headed right. Yagyuu followed him, slipping the pass into his pocket. "Do they always treat you like that, Niou-kun?"

"Everyone knows my dad has three kids. Riko's in the papers for her piano stuff, and Kenji's known for his singing. Even if my name shows up in the paper because of tennis, no one makes the connection because I don't go the Hyotei," Niou explained. "So, yeah, it's always like that."

Yagyuu didn't say another word as Niou led them to the men's locker room. The lockers had scanners instead of conventional locks. Yagyuu felt like he was in another planet. Niou headed to the back of the room, looking over the locker numbers. He pulled his membership card out again, holding it so the barcode was pressed against the scanner. The door swung open, revealing a duffel bag and a spare tennis racquet.

"You can put your stuff in there," Niou mumbled. He pulled the duffel bag out. "I don't really come here that often because my dad's busier, but they have nice indoor courts."

"Your dad plays tennis?" Yagyuu asked curiously.

Niou was silent for a moment. He began to strip out of his clothes. Yagyuu began to do the same. Without warning, Niou said, "I was five when Kenji was born. My mom spent all of her time with him and her free time with Riko. I got jealous. My dad taught me tennis so I didn't feel left out. We used to come here a lot, but he's been busy lately."

Yagyuu nodded and continued to change. He never knew that. Once he thought about it, he didn't know much about Niou. The only thing they seemed to have in common was tennis. Niou was rich, Yagyuu wasn't. Niou liked to get in trouble for the thrill, Yagyuu was terrified of trouble. It was amazing how they were friends with so little connecting them.

Yagyuu was the first to finish changing. He slung his tennis bag over his shoulder, waiting silently. Niou hadn't changed into his Rikkaidai uniform; he had changed into a white polo and a pair of shorts he had gotten out of the duffel bag.

"Reporters for sports magazines like to hang around sometimes," Niou explained. "It'd be weird if I wore a Rikkaidai uniform to a club like this."

Yagyuu glanced down at himself. He had changed into his Rikkaidai uniform.

"It's fine, Hiroshi. I just don't want people making connections to my name."

Niou grabbed the tennis racquet that was in his locker – his tennis bag had a giant Rikkaidai R so taking that was out of the question – and led Yagyuu back into the halls. Niou led them through a maze of stairs, past the basketball courts, past the indoor pool, and past the racquetball rooms. Finally, they stopped. Niou held out his membership card, a glass door sliding open.

There were six tennis courts that were visible. There appeared to be another door in the back that Yagyuu assumed held more courts, or perhaps automated ball machines.

"Yukimura said we should think of new moves," Yagyuu mentioned as Niou walked onto a court.

"Maybe we can learn synchro?" Niou joked.

"Very funny, Niou-kun."

"Let's just play. If we start glowing and acting all gay, we'll tell Yukimura," Niou said as he jumped over the net to get to the other side of the court. He reached underneath the referee chair, pulling out a ball from a container Yagyuu hadn't even noticed.

"Shouldn't we warm up?" Yagyuu asked.

"Nah. We did enough at practice," Niou reasoned. "Let's just play. No score because you always beat me anyways."

Yagyuu smiled. "Of course, Niou-kun."

Niou moved to the baseline, rolling his shoulders as he got into serving position.

.

Niou swore as another ball went swirling by him. He dropped his racquet and bent over, grabbing his knees as his chest heaved up and down. He looked up – Yagyuu was barely sweating, his breath even.

"Hiroshi, when the hell did your Laser get so fast?" Niou asked.

"When did you learn to do a single-footed-split-step?" Yagyuu asked in return.

Niou stood up, grinning like the devil. He pulled his shirt up to wipe at his face. When he let go of the fabric, he said, "We're going to raise hell. But first... snack bar. I'm hungry."

Yagyuu nodded in agreement.

.

The two went back into the locker room and changed into their school uniforms. Niou grabbed the duffel bag he had kept his clothes in and slung it over his shoulder. "I need to get these washed," he mumbled as he kicked his locker shut. "I look like an idiot. I have three bags."

"Yes, you do."

"Are you saying that I have three bags, or that I look like an idiot?" Niou asked as they left the locker room.

"What do you think, Niou-kun?"

Yagyuu followed Niou up a set of stairs. When they got to the top, they walked across a path that was open on either side of them, looking down on a pool. On the other side of the path was a large area with stands and vending machines. There were several tables and sofas where people were eating and talking excitedly.

"What'd you want? You can't get anything with a visitor's pass, so I need to get it," Niou said as they walked up to a stand run by a young girl.

Yagyuu glanced at the list of items on the menu, saying the first time he saw: "Mixed fruit, I suppose."

Niou leaned against the stand, smiling and flirting with the girl as he ordered. After a minute or two, Niou turned around and handed Yagyuu a plastic container with fruit and a bottle of water. Niou was holding a bottle of green tea and a plastic container with a salad.

"Does this cost money?" Yagyuu asked.

Niou shook his head and sat down at a table. "Nope. It comes with the membership fee."

"Alright," Yagyuu said, sitting down across from Niou. He knew Niou was lying. Niou's voice dipped when he lied. It was less noticeable than it was in junior high, but Yagyuu still heard it.

"You know," Niou said, "Valentine's Day is in two weeks or something like that. You gonna ask Cupcake out?"

"Chishu and I have a platonic relationship," Yagyuu reminded him. "Are you going to call the girl you met at Atobe's party?"

"Sato?" Niou blinked a few times. "_Shit_. I forgot about her."

"I assumed as much." Yagyuu sighed. "From what you told me about her, I doubt she will enjoy being called a month after giving you her number."

Niou poked at his salad and said, "She called me a narcissist then kissed me. Sane people don't do that."

"Since when have you ever been attracted to sane people?"

Niou couldn't think of anything to reply with, so he just kept quiet.

.

They left shortly after that, talking about nothing in particular. They headed over to Niou's house, Yagyuu waiting for Naomi's friend's mother to call to have him come pick her up. The walk from the train station was long, but with the warming weather it wasn't that bad.

Yagyuu was always impressed when he saw Niou's house. The fact that they had their own gate with a padlock never ceased to amaze him. Niou lazily typed in the code, waving at the camera to the security guard, who was watching in the house. Yagyuu knew the Niou family had three gardeners to take over the estate, a chef, a security guard, a driver, and any number of behind the scenes workers.

Niou pulled a set of keys out of his school bag, unlocking the first of two locks on the front door. Yagyuu waited patiently for Niou to remember which key was which – he had the school keys on there, including one to the student council and locker rooms (Yagyuu pretended not to notice that), one to a locker or something of the sort, and several others that unlocked gates and doors around his house. Finally, he found the right key and pushed the door open.

"I'm home! Hiroshi's with me!" Niou shouted. He slipped off his shoes and dropped his bags on the floor. Yagyuu took off his shoes, but kept hold of his bag. He never felt comfortable leaving it lying around Niou's house.

"Masa!" Niou and Yagyuu looked up. Kenji was jumping down the stairs, skipping two or three at a time. He walked over to the two, grinning. "Guess what?"

"What?" Niou asked.

"I'm in the National Junior Choir!"

Niou ruffled his little brother's hair. "Way to go. Shove that in Atobe's face the next time he asks why you're not doing a solo."

"My partner made it, too," he said. "Mom's taking us out to dinner to celebrate."

"First date, eh?" Niou teased. He ruffled Kenji's hair again. "What was her name again?"

"Shut up," Kenji said. Niou didn't mention how his brother didn't deny it was a date. Kenji brushed his brother's hand off of his head, smiling at Yagyuu. "Hey, Hiroshi. How's Naomi?"

"Fine. She's at her friend's house. I'm merely staying until she needs to leave," Yagyuu said.

"You still talk like that?" Kenji asked. He patted Yagyuu on the back like he would his brother. "You're so weird! I mean that in a nice way. Sorry, I know it sounded mean..."

"It's fine to point out that he's got a stick up his ass," Niou said. "Hiroshi, game room okay with you?"

Yagyuu nodded. "That's fine."

"Ken, you coming?"

"Sure, Masa."

.

Kenji was lying on the sofa, his feet poking at Yagyuu's thigh. Niou sat in front of an enormous television, swearing as he tried to find the right remote.

"Come on, Hiroshi, you're family to us," Kenji said. He nudged Yagyuu with his foot, grinning with his teeth. "You're allowed to talk."

"Seriously, 'roshi, way to make things freakin' awkward by sitting there like a statue," Niou muttered. "Eureka! I found the remote!"

Kenji snorted. "Way to go Masa. It only took you twenty minutes."

Yagyuu's family wasn't like this. Yagyuu's mother had left him and his seven year old sister with a drunk for a father. She didn't even call anymore. It was different in Niou's family. Niou's family cared about each other.

No matter how many times they said it, it didn't help. He wasn't a part of their family. No matter how good his grades were, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how perfect he seemed, he was part of a dysfunctional mess. Nothing would ever change that.

Still, it was nice to pretend he was a part of a nicer family every now and then.

* * *

**A/N: Sato Ree from chapter 26 goes MIA for an undisclosed amount of time. I am ridiculously ahead on writing this story, and I can promise that she comes back because I've already written that chapter. **


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32.**

Marui yawned as he walked up the stairs to the street courts. "I might as well learn some offensive moves, even if you don't learn defense," Jackal had said when he called. Marui had agreed out of impulse and boredom. Suzuki was with her team and Marui did not want to spend the whole day with his brothers. Besides, it had been awhile since he hung out with Jackal.

He spotted Jackal sitting on a bench, headphones in, with Kirihara sitting next to him. Marui walked over, poking Kirihara's temple. "Why are you here, brat? Why aren't you with your friends?"

Kirihara swatted Marui's hand away. "My friends were busy. Jackal-senpai called and asked if I wanted to play tennis, and I figured I had nothing else to do..."

"I thought he could help us. Like, I can rally with him while you try to teach me something?" Jackal tried to explain as he stuffed his music player into his bag. "I think it'd be easy than you trying to teach me while we're playing each other."

"Makes sense. Jackal, help me warm up," Marui said, setting his bag down on the bench. He pulled out his racquet and slipped a few balls into the loose pocket of his sweatpants.

Jackal grabbed his racquet and stood up, glancing at Kirihara. "Akaya, why don't you practice with Urayama-kun and Oyama-kun?" he suggested.

"Ice-Cream-Head?" Marui mumbled out loud. He turned and looked at the three tennis courts behind him. The one closest to them was empty. The second had a pair of girls playing rather badly. Urayama and someone else were rallying against each other at the third court, though Urayama completely missed the ball half the time.

"That kids sucks," Marui said bluntly. "_He_ was your vice-captain?"

"He can only play doubles and he can only play with Oyama," Kirihara said simply. He didn't seem the least bit surprised Urayama that was flailing like a fish out of water. "Call me when you want my help or whatever."

Marui and Jackal nodded as Kirihara jogged over to the two first years.

"Akaya's always thought highly of them," Marui recalled as he walked onto the court closest to them. Jackal walked onto the opposite side, picking at the strings on his racquet. "Do you think they're any good?"

"I dunno. The only match I saw while Akaya was captain was National Finals against Hyotei, and those two didn't play," Jackal said. "They're probably pretty good if Akaya takes an interest in them."

Marui pulled a ball out of his pocket. "Come on. Time to warm up."

Marui tossed the ball into the air, slamming it across the court.

.

People began to filter in as Marui and Jackal warmed up with a light volley. A few people turned heads when they saw five people wearing Rikkaidai jerseys. Most people rotated into the second court, but didn't dare look at the first and third court for too long, like they were afraid the boys would bite their heads off.

"I don't care if you're Rikkaidai or not, hurry it up!"

Marui turned his head to see who had shouted it. The ball went flying past him. Marui didn't care. He spotted two cocky looking guys shouting in Urayama's face. Kirihara got up from the bench he was sitting at, walking over.

"Bunta," Jackal said. "We should..." He left the rest hanging.

"Yeah," Marui agreed. Leaving the ball, he jogged over.

One of the boys grabbed at Urayama's shirt, but someone knocked their hand away with a racquet. A tall, lanky boy gently pushed Urayama back. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off his multiple earrings. The feeling he gave off didn't match his appearance. It was something different, something that couldn't be described.

"Shiita, I got this," the boy said.

"Kenta, I'm not a baby," Urayama mumbled.

It took Marui a second to realize the tall boy with the piercings was Oyama Kenta, Urayama's tennis partner.

"What's going on?" Kirihara practically shouted as he stormed over. He stopped, standing in front of Oyama and Urayama, sending daggers at the two bullies. "Did you not see the sign that said 'no violence?'"

"I doubt those idiots can even read," Marui muttered. He stood next to Kirihara, looking the two delinquents over. Marui recognized them. They were regulars at the courts, but nothing special.

"We were just trying to use a court," one of the boys said. "We were trying to be gentlemen and let the ladies in the center play. But these brats have been playing for too long. This guy can't even hit the ball."

"Can we stop arguing?" Oyama asked calmly. Everyone turned to look at him. Based on appearances only, Marui expected him to be a violent person, but his words were soft and slow, like he had thought them through before saying them. "This is a tennis court. How about you two play a quick match with Shiita and me? Three games should be enough."

"I thought you Rikkaidai kids weren't allowed to play unofficial matches?" the other boy teased. He glanced at Urayama. "Or does the girls' team have different rules?"

It took Marui a moment to get the insult. Kirihara got it in an instant. Urayama's features were soft, delicate, like a younger version of Yukimura. The fact that this hair was pink didn't seem to help his appearance. He was the complete opposite of his partner.

Kirihara reached forward, fisting his hand into one of the boy's shirt. "Take that back."

Urayama tugged on the back of Kirihara's shirt. "It's fine, Senpai."

"Yeah, listen to your girlfriend." The two laughed. "Do you know who you're messing with? I'm Abe. That's Genda. We're the champions of three doubles tournaments in the area."

Kirihara's eyes twinkled in a way that would make Niou proud. "Really? Huh. I think I've heard of you before," he lied. "Sorry 'bout that. I thought you were just some punks."

Abe smirked. "See, even Rikkaidai respects us. Learn from your elders, brat."

Kirihara gently let go of Abe's shirt, turning around to look at Oyama and Urayama. His smirk was devilish. "Why don't you let them teach you some tennis, Oyama, Urayama?"

Marui grinned. "Yeah, Ice-Cream-Head, these guys are really good. Jackal and I watched their matches. Downright terrifying when they get going. You'll learn a lot."

"I think they could even score against me," Jackal said. His lips twisted up, like he was about to burst out laughing any second. Marui was biting his lip. The thought of those two scoring points against Jackal was absolutely hilarious.

The two boys huffed smugly.

"Alright, Senpai," Urayama said with a small smile. "Do you think we should really try, Abe-sensei, Genda-sensei? I mean, we only have three games to learn _so _much."

"Of course," Genda said. "We must share our knowledge."

Genda and Abe nodded, walking around them to get to the other side of the court. When their backs were to the Rikkaidai boys, their smiles faded.

"Kick their asses," Kirihara ordered.

"Alright, Kirihara-senpai," Oyama said. He began to move to the baseline but stopped after a few steps. "Marui-senpai, could you watch what Shiita does? He based his tennis off of yours. Maybe you could help him with one of his moves he's had a problem with?"

"Eh? Really?" Marui grinned. "Sure."

Urayama smiled and moved up to the net. Marui, Jackal and Kirihara moved towards a bench. As they walked, they watched as Urayama pretended not to know how to spin his racquet to decide who served.

"Did he really base his tennis off of mine?" Marui asked curiously as he sat down.

Kirihara moved his bag and sat down next to Marui, shrugging slightly. "I suppose you could say he did, but it's different. He plays defense, too."

Jackal raised his eyebrows. "_What?_"

"Oyama and Urayama both play defense and offense," Kirihara said. "Urayama prefers to play offense because, well, just watch."

Abe had called the spin correctly, saying Genda would serve first. From the baseline, Genda began to explain that you want to have a quick serve with a lot of power. Oyama stood lazily at the back line, waiting.

Genda tossed the ball up, swinging his racquet down. The ball snapped across the court, but it was slow. Oyama jolted forward and swung his racquet, Marui's eyes widening at the speed of his return. It smashed into the court right next to Abe, Genda not even moving to hit it back.

"That's love-15, right?" Urayama asked. His smirk was huge.

"First years can hit that fast?" Marui asked, surprised. "I never knew that. That's as fast as the shots you see in Kanto, maybe even Nationals... Not at our regulars' speed, but still..."

"And they're wearing wrist weights," Jackal pointed out. "Akaya, didn't you say they kept them on after they graduated junior high?"

Kirihara nodded. "Yeah. And Urayama wears ankle weights. Those things are heavy. I can barely walk with them on. Okay, I'm lying. But they're heavy."

Genda severed again. Urayama stepped forward, returning the serve. The ball sped to the other side, straight towards Abe. Abe returned the ball with relative ease, but Urayama was already up by the net, in front of the ball, hitting it back again. It went flying towards Abe, who moved out of the way, too preoccupied with his safety to even think about returning the shot.

"Does he aim at people?" Jackal asked. "Urayama-kun doesn't seem like the kind of player to do that. That's more your style, Akaya."

"He just follows the ball and hits it," Kirihara answered. "I don't understand it. Something to do with his ADHD. He can't focus on anything, so he notices every little detail that can affect the ball. He doesn't care what his opponent is doing – he can't focus long enough to figure it out. It's weird, fighting against someone who just hits the ball anywhere, not caring if you can hit it back or not. It messes with your mind."

When Marui refocused on the game, Oyama was asking, "That's 1 game to love, right, Abe-sensei, Genda-sensei? We lead."

"Jackal," Marui mumbled as he watched Urayama go to the baseline to serve, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Bunta, you're running your ass off," Jackal said with an amused smile.

Marui snickered. "Hell yeah I am. And I'm aiming balls at you until you learn some funky ass move."

"Did I miss something?" Kirihara asked dumbly. He felt like he was with Tanka and Miyagi, listening to one of their inside jokes that made no sense.

"15-love."

"Jackal and I just found a doubles pair to practice a new formation with." Marui smiled. "Don't tell Buchou. As far as you know, we're not doing anything new."

"30-love."

"Why can't I tell him?" Kirihara asked.

"Because," Marui and Jackal replied in unison.

Kirihara rolled his eyes.

"40-love."

Marui and Jackal seemed absorbed in the match. Abe and Genda were struggling for each hit, but Oyama returned them all smoothly. Urayama rocked back and forth on the baseline, his racquet hanging at his side, like he knew Oyama would hit everything.

Urayama served again.

Genda missed it completely.

"Game, us! 2 games to love," Urayama called out.

Abe was at the baseline. His served was faster than Genda's but nothing Oyama couldn't return with ease. Urayama moved off to the side without being told to do so. Oyama moved to the middle of the court, starting a steady volley between him and Genda.

"Wait. Akaya, Oyama said Urayama based his tennis off of mine. I don't play defense and I watch people's movements, not the ball's," Marui pointed out.

"Oh. He meant he based his _net_ play off of yours," Kirihara said.

"What do you –"

Marui found his eyes drown to Urayama's position. The way he moved into the middle of the volley, the tilt of his racquet, his wrist, his legs, and his torso – it was so familiar, yet different. Marui realized why a second before the ball hit the net, rolling a short distance along the top before falling over onto Abe and Genda's side.

"That's my move," Marui muttered. "Tightrope Walking."

"It's different," Jackal said. "It didn't roll as long, and his follow through is weird."

"He could never get the form quite right," Kirihara explained. "It ends up working better for him. Gives his opponents less time to react. It only works half the time, though. It either goes on their opponents' side or their side. He can't control it like you can, Marui-senpai."

"Love-15," Urayama called.

The rest of the game was a blur. Urayama didn't touch the ball besides to return a serve for the rest of the game. Oyama moved, watching, studying. His style was so different from Urayama's – it was calm and collected, unlike Urayama's chaotic shots.

"Game, us! 3 games to love," Urayama said when Oyama hit a lob to the back. "We win. Thanks for teaching a girly guy like me."

"You hustled us!" Abe roared. He rushed the net, shoving his racquet right in front of Oyama's face.

Oyama raised an eyebrow. "Are you actually going to do something, or are you going to continue humiliating yourself?"

"You're just jealous!" Urayama shouted. He ran up to the net, pulling Oyama out of Abe's reach. "Beating up Kenta won't make you suck any less."

Abe pushed down on the net, stepping over it. "Why you prissy little –"

Oyama put his own racquet in Abe's face. "Don't touch him," Oyama ordered.

"Hey," Kirihara called, walking over, "break it up. You two lost. Get over it. Get better. _Get out_. Unless you want to play me?"

Oyama brought his arm back down, his racquet hanging at his side. Abe swore under his breath, walking away with his partner. They left the courts completely.

"Sometimes I think you want to get me killed," Oyama said to Urayama with a heavy sigh.

Urayama rubbed at the back of his head. "Sorry, it kinda slipped out."

"Urayama, Oyama," Marui said, walking over with Jackal. "We need to talk to you."

"Do you guys have anything really important that takes up a lot of time?" Jackal asked. Hastily, he added, "Besides school and tennis?"

Oyama shook his head. Urayama shrugged, slinging his racquet over his shoulder. "Not really."

"Then teach me how to play defense," Marui demanded.

"And teach me how to play offense," Jackal said.

Kirihara blinked. So did Oyama. Urayama just smiled and said, "Sure!"

.

Time seemed to speed up. Kirihara left, utterly confused by what was going on, saying he needed to work on some homework. The four doubles players headed to a nearby diner, talking about this and that as they ate their food.

"Do you know any of my other moves?" Marui asked Urayama.

Urayama shook his head. "Nah. I could never figure the other ones out. I barely got Tightrope Walking to work. The ball falls onto our side of the court half the time."

"I'll show you the right way to do it," Marui promised. He rotated his hand and said, "It's all in the wrist."

Jackal and Oyama were off in their own little world, completely oblivious to their partners.

"How do you manage to switch playing styles so quickly?" Jackal asked.

Oyama poked at his fries. "I wouldn't really say I play defensive tennis. When I'm in the back, I hit the ball so the opponent will be forced to hit something Shiita can counter. When I'm at the net, I just hit. It's not really a different style."

Jackal nodded. "That makes sense. But don't you have any special moves that you only use when you're at the net? I mean, some moves just can't be done from the back."

They talked and talked and talked, setting dates to meet up. Urayama and Oyama made suggestions on how Marui could bring up his stamina quickly, most of which involved waking up incredibly early and running with low oxygen, like Kikumaru had done.

"My stamina isn't the best either," Urayama admitted. "If I really had to play defense we'd be in trouble. I kinda just let Kenta do his thing when he plays offense..."

As they left the diner, Marui sighed. "Akira's finally getting her wish. Jackal, help me pick out an alarm clock. I need to start jogging in the morning."

They were going to do it. They were going to do the impossible. Even if it meant growing up.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to start off vague since I've never done a tennis match before. And no, I didn't mean for both of their names to have "yama." I realized it after I had already posted chapters with Oyama's name. Go me. (Also, Urayama is canon if you didn't already know that.) **

**Special thanks to Frog-kun for clearing up some confusion on the scoring. **

**Temari Note: I personally love Oyama and Urayama. Oyama needs to be canon~ but yeah these two rock and my favorite of everyone out of all the characters! I love Oyama so much. :D**


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33.**

Suzuki was sitting on her bed and reading through a sports magazine. One of her arms was hanging off the edge of her bed as she absentmindedly scratched Cinnamon on the head. Coco was asleep at her feet. Kiwi was running on his little wheel in his cage. It was completely normal. She then remembered her life was anything but, and that _something_ was going to happen. She was right.

"Akira, this is Cinnamon speaking."

Suzuki propped herself up. She glanced at Cinnamon, who was half asleep, and then at her closed door. "Really, Bunta? _Lame._ You can come in."

Marui opened the door, grinning. "Did I get you? I totally had you for a second."

She rolled her eyes and sat up. Cinnamon looked up at her, but she wrinkled her nose at her dog. "Go to sleep. My fingers are tired."

"It's a dog, it can't understand you," Marui said as he sat at her desk. "What's up?"

"You walked over to my house to ask what's up?" she asked, suspicious. "I should be the one asking what's up. In fact, I think I will. What's up?"

Marui went off. He told her about how he bought an alarm clock, how Jackal and him were going to learn their new formation with the help of Urayama and Oyama, and that she didn't need to wake him up anymore.

"Well," he said when he finished, "what do you think?"

She blinked a few times. Her mouth was hanging open, yet she stilled managed to smile. "You're using my idea?"

"Yup."

"_Freak yeah!_ I just pulled that out of my ass," she said. She shifted so she was sitting up, her smile filling her whole face. "Call it the Suzuki Formation. I want it to be called the Suzuki Formation."

"Akira, that's ridiculous!" Marui practically shouted. Cinnamon and Coco were staring at him. The light hit their eyes in a strange way, their eyes glossing over. "Akira, I think your dogs want to kill me. They got that demon thing going on."

"Bunta!" She tossed her magazine at him. It hit him in the face and then fell onto the floor. "It was an awesome idea that my ass produced. It needs a name. Preferably mine."

"You're downright scary sometimes, Akira, you know that?" he asked. "Like, right now. You look like you could out run the cops right now. We should totally rob Niou's house. We'd be like ninjas. Your murder-like dogs can help."

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and spiders. And you're not a ninja."

Marui sat completely still. Suzuki raised her eyebrows, but went with it. Once five seconds had passed, Marui asked, "Did you see me do that?"

"Do what?"

"Exactly. I'm a freakin' ninja. We're robbing Niou's house with your assassin dogs." Cinnamon got up and walked over to him. The dog rested its head in Marui's lap, looking up at him. "See, Akira? He's trying to act cute. When I turn my back on him, he'll kill me. This thing is a beast."

Suzuki rolled her eyes. "Bunta, you're insane."

"All I want to do is rob Niou's house with your dogs and my ninja skills. How is that insane?"

She smiled. Marui laughed.

.

They headed down to her kitchen at some point. She pulled out a bottle of peach juice from the fridge, Marui a bottle of water. Suzuki jumped up onto the counter, Marui jumping up next to her.

"You know what I want?" Marui asked somewhat randomly as he opened his water.

"What?"

"A theme song. Whenever it plays, I can summon my posse. Not some weak posse. I want a hardcore one. I'll snap my fingers and they pop out of freaking nowhere. That'd be hot."

Suzuki nodded slightly. "Riiight. And I want something named after me. Maybe a bridge. A baby would do. Or a formation."

"Not this again," Marui groaned.

"I want a pet penguin," Suzuki added. "I'd name it Pen-pen. It'd lead my army of ninja assassin dogs when we go to rob Niou's house."

"_Yes_." Marui held up his bottle. Suzuki tapped hers against his, and then took a small sip. Marui took a long sip and then said, "We need an army of robot ducks. We can teach them to talk. Pen-pen will lead them to the front door and knock. When Niou opens the door, the ducks will say, 'Knock, knock, motherfucker.' Then we storm. It'll have lasers and everything."

"We should totally write a movie," Suzuki said.

"No. We should write a book, and then make it into a movie. That way we can be quoted officially with a book name and a page number. One day in the future, kids will be quoting our book for their essays."

"What essay would that be?"

"How to Rock at Life," Marui said.

Suzuki laughed, covering her mouth to keep her juice from squirting out. Marui spilled water on himself, swearing loudly, which only made Suzuki laugh harder.

Once she got herself back together, Suzuki asked, "We're not gonna have time to hang out outside of school anymore, are we?"

Marui shrugged, setting his water down on the counter next to him. "I guess not. I mean, it's not like I'll practice with Urayama and Oyama every day. And tennis and softball practices generally go to about the same time. We'll just make plans when we can."

"I don't like growing up," she muttered. "We're going to university in the fall. We're going to get old and get married. Then die. I think I'll skip the kids."

"Really? I can see it. You and kids. Not many, just one or two. I'd be Uncle Bunta."

"I can see you having ten," Suzuki said. She set her bottle next to her and began to kick her legs back and forth. "I like kids. I've always wanted to go into teaching, maybe open up a daycare or something, you know that. I just never thought of myself as a mom."

Marui nudged her with his elbow. "You'd be a good mom."

"Really?" She pictured herself ten years in the future working at a daycare with a baby bump. She used to like the idea of having twins. When she was younger, she would make Ito play house with her. She always pretended he was her husband and her dolls were twins. The more she thought about it, the more she smiled. "Okay, yeah, I can see it. I might do some kids."

"I want kids," Marui said. "Not ten. Maybe three. I want to go into chemistry. It's the only subject I'm any good at and it's fun. Maybe I'll work at a school as a teacher and run a tennis team. I think I'd like that."

"I can see you handing back tests and yelling 'morons' if they all failed." Suzuki grinned. "You should totally do that. Be the jackass teacher that everyone loves or hates. Hey, maybe you could make chemistry fun?"

"I think we've said 'maybe' around seventy times, maybe more," Marui joked. She rolled her eyes. "If you ever have kids, Akira, I want to be godfather. I'll tell them all of your embarrassing stories."

"Then I'll be your kids' godmother. I'll be Auntie Akira. I'll tell them how you ran into a fence and chipped your tooth," she said with a huge grin.

"You suck."

She brushed her shoulder against his. "You know you love me."

"Ha, yeah right! I'm too sexy for love."

Suzuki tossed her head back and laughed.

.

Suzuki realized her family was out of milk when she went to get another container of peach juice. She sighed and opened up a drawer, looking for a pen and a sticky note. She pulled a pencil and a sticky note pad out, but continued to look.

"What's up?" Marui asked. "Out of eggs or something?"

"Milk. We need to go get some."

"Can't your mom just pick it up? She passes by tons of stores on her way home, right?"

She shook her head. "It's a rule. If you realize we're out of milk, you put a note on the fridge and go get some. My mom uses it when she cooks all the time," Suzuki said. She was still looking through the drawer. "Where's a freakin' pen?"

Marui found it very amusing that she was holding a pencil, so he kept his mouth shut. The chances that she would skin him alive later were incredibly high, but it was worth it as he watched her mumble out curses and slam drawers shut.

She was dead serious, Marui realized when she asked him if he had a pen. He shook his head and laughed mentally as she went back to her search. And she called _him_ stupid.

"This house is penless!" she shouted. "I give up! If I had a dick, I'd tell pens to suck it."

"Akira, you're holding a pencil," Marui finally told her.

"I need a pen! Pencils can't write. Wait. What? _Freak._ Forget I said that." Marui laughed as she scribbled something onto the sticky note and then stuck it onto the fridge. "Come on. It only takes like twenty minutes to get to the Corner Market."

"Do I have to come?" Marui pouted. "I'm tired."

"Stamina for the Suzuki Formation," she said. "Get your lazy ass up. Come on."

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"Yes, I know. Let's go."

Marui sighed and jumped off the counter.

.

Suzuki headed to the back of the Corner Market to get the milk. Marui strolled down the candy aisle, picking up a few packs of apple gum. He debated getting a pack of grape, but decided not to. After all, he didn't have money, and felt bad mooching off of Suzuki for grape gum. Apple gum was perfectly acceptable by the Marui Bunta Mooch Law.

He headed to the back of the store, raising an eyebrow when he saw his friend. Suzuki was kneeling on the ground, pushing cartons of orange and grape juice around.

"Problem?" Marui asked, leaning against the glass door next to her.

"They're out of milk. Places are never out of milk. Seriously, what crap hole runs out of milk?" she asked as she stood up and closed the door.

"No biggie. Just call your mom or something."

"It's a rule –"

"I'm not going into town to get milk," he said. He showed her his gum. "Buy me these."

She just looked at him. It was a mixture between you're-insane and you-just-kicked-a-puppy.

He smiled nervously.

"Fine." She sighed and grabbed the gum from his hand. He did a small fist-pump. "I hate going to the store for one thing and they're out. Who runs out of milk?"

"Will you calm down if I remind you you're drinking something that came out of a cow's utter? AKA: the cow boob?" Marui asked.

Suzuki cringed. "Eww. Eww. Still need milk. _Eww_."

"Fine, I'll go get milk with you," Marui groaned. "Just get me my gum."

She paid for his gum, and then dragged him to another store, telling him it was for his "Suzuki Formation stamina."

.

Marui went to his house after they finally found milk. He didn't want to be at Suzuki's house when she realized she was missing something else and had a special rule about that, too. Marui toed off his shoes and closed the door behind him. He could hear voices in the other room, and wondered if there was a family thing he forgot about.

Curious, he walked into the living room. Haruto and Hikaru were in the room with several other boys. Marui rapped his knuckles against the wall and asked, "Haruto, Hikaru, does Mom know your having friends over?"

Haruto and Hikaru turned and looked at him. The room fell silent, everyone staring at him. Were they the other regulars on the Rikkaidai junior high soccer team? Marui was almost certain they were.

"Yeah, she knows," Haruto answered.

"They staying for dinner?" Marui asked.

"No," Hikaru said. "Can you go away now, Bunta?"

Marui rolled his eyes and left them alone. He hated it when his brothers hung around when he had friends over. He figured he could be nice and leave them alone. Despite all the crap they gave him, they were still his brothers. His annoying step-brothers from hell, but brothers nonetheless.

He headed up the stairs, their voices following him every step. Doing homework was going to be a pain with all that noise. He thought that he could get Suzuki to release her assassin dogs on them. Screw being a good brother. They were loud.

* * *

**A/N: Microsoft tried to correct "gum" to "gun" several times. I found it amusing. **

**Serious Note: I started my senior year of high school two weeks ago. I am busy with work and senior events, but I will still be updating. I have up to chapter 50 written, and several after that. This story will go on, but the updates might be sporadic. **


	34. Chapter 34

** Chapter 34. **

Yukimura was changing for morning practice when Marui and Jackal came up to him. Yukimura slid the undershirt he always wore with his uniform his shirt over his head, tossing it into his locker. The captain looked at them, trying to find the arm holes of his practice shirt with his hands – he was having a little difficulty doing so. "What is it?"

"Can we use the weight room during practices until it warms up?" Marui asked. "There are treadmills there."

"And I want to use the weights," Jackal said.

Yukimura furrowed his brow. "Why?"

"We just said why," Marui said, a look of utter confusion on his face.

"No, I mean why do you want to run, and why do you want to lift weights?" Yukimura asked. Generally, it would have been the other way around with Marui weight lifting and Jackal running. Arm strength was Marui's forte. Stamina was Jackal's. "Has Renji changed your schedules without telling me?"

Jackal shook his head. "Nothing like that. We just want to improve on our weak points. I mean, it's not like we do much during practice anyway."

"Alright. Hang on a second," Yukimura said. He disappeared to his office, returning a minute later with a key. He tossed it to Jackal, who caught it midair. "Make sure you lock the room up when you're done. And don't lose that key. I want it back when we start practice matches. So you have around a month in there. If I see any other members in there, there will be problems."

"Thanks, Buchou," Marui said. Jackal nodded in agreement.

Yukimura watched as the two walked over to their lockers. When Urayama and Oyama walked in, Marui held up the key. Urayama gave them two thumbs up. Yukimura wondered what they were up to, but figured he didn't have to investigate. He would figure it out soon enough. He always figured it out.

He had more pressing matters. Like finding the arm holes in his shirt.

.

Yukimura ran warm up laps with the other members, running with the last member until he finished. The flustered first year thanked him. Yukimura smiled and told him to drink some water. After that, he walked over to his hill and fell onto his back, staring up at the sky.

Niou sat down next to him, glancing out over the practice. Everyone was doing serves, and even Yanagi seemed slightly nervous when the first years took position. Someone was going to get a black eye.

"What is it, Niou?" Yukimura asked. "You haven't talked to Renji, Genchirou, or me since we made you pay for the balls. Genchirou is worried you're going to put lizards in his locker."

Niou made a mental note to put lizards in Sanada's locker. It would be the first prank of Prank War IV.

"I've seen you around school with a girl," Niou said, changing the subject. "Is she that Koga girl or whoever you're crushing on?"

"Niou, I would be very careful about how you chose your words from this moment on," Yukimura warned. "And, yes, I have been spending a good amount of time with Koga-chan. Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?"

"_Love_ life?" Niou asked. Yukimura didn't say anything. "Don't you usually date those preppy, loud girls? This one's quiet. Sudden change in tastes?"

"Niou, stop treating women like they're something you pick out at the store," Yukimura said with a bit of a sigh. "And obviously I don't like preppy, loud girls if I break up with them."

Niou hummed and leaned back on his hands. "Why do you like her?"

Yukimura sat up and studied Niou's expression. The Trickster honestly seemed curious. Why in the world would Niou Masaharu, who was notorious for not dating anyone, care about something like that?

Yukimura found himself smiling softly. "Niou, do _you_ like someone?"

"You've been talking to Hiroshi, haven't you?" Niou asked bitterly. "He'd love to see me date her. I don't like her. She's weird. The bitch called me a narcissist."

Yukimura couldn't keep himself from laughing. He had no idea who Niou was talking about, but the idea of a girl walking up to him and saying that was hilarious. It seemed even funnier because it was true; Niou was a bit of a narcissist. When he got himself back together, Niou was glaring at him, and Yukimura wondered if he would find lizards in _his _locker tomorrow.

"Niou, if you must know," Yukimura said, "I like her for a lot of reasons. At first, I just thought she was cute. Then I realized she made me smile without saying anything. I think that's the most important thing, don't you? Just smiling around a person for no reason whatsoever?"

"That was really gay."

"Niou, run ten laps," Yukimura ordered. He fell backwards, his back hitting the grass.

"Buchou," Niou said as he stood up, "Valentine's Day is in two days. If you ever wanted to ask her out, you should do it then. Most girls like that crap."

"Niou –"

"Just a suggestion. I'll run an extra ten laps if you never mention this conversation to anyone. At least, I'll pretend to run an extra ten laps."

Yukimura smiled. "Deal."

.

The rest of Yukimura's day was so ordinary, it was boring. As he was walking to the locker room for afternoon practice with Sanada and Yanagi, he saw Koga waiting nervously around the courts. Yanagi and Sanada continued on, but Yukimura made a small detour.

"Koga-chan?" he questioned as he walked up to her.

"Hello." She smiled at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It immediately fell back in front of her face. She pushed her hair back with her hand, keeping her hand on top of her head so it didn't fall. Even then it slid out from under her fingers. She dropped her arm in defeat. "Gah. I give up."

"Gah? That's an interesting word."

"You don't have to be mean. I'm trying not to swear as much. Gah is better than something else."

Why did his stomach start to do strange things when she got that look? Yukimura smiled politely. "I didn't mean it like that. I was just – I poke fun at the people I'm close to. I'm sorry."

"It's just some people do that, and some people mean it as an insult. It's hard to tell."

"It is," he agreed. He tilted his head slightly and gave her a curious look. "Is there some reason you're out here by the courts, Koga-chan?"

"Well," she began, "I didn't have work today and my friends are all busy. I don't want to go home and do my homework right now, and it's no fun going out by yourself. I mean, I just –"

"You can stay and watch practice," Yukimura said. He pointed to his hill, telling her she could sit over there and that he would be out in a minute after changing.

.

When Yukimura walked out of the locker room, he didn't feel his face instantly numb. It was finally starting to warm up. He spotted Koga sitting on the hill, her knees pulled into her chest and her school blazer draped over her shoulders, like she couldn't decide if she was hot or cold. She sat in such a way that no one could see her underwear. Yukimura was thankful for that.

She wrapped her fingers around the fabric of her coat, pulling it around herself as he sat down next to her. He leaned back on his hands, watching as everyone ran their laps. Niou gave him a thumbs up, which made Koga's ears burn bright red.

"Shouldn't you be practicing, Senpai?"

"There's isn't much to do at this point," Yukimura told her. "After the first tournament in March we'll begin doing practice matches and other things. Right now we just want to let members who aren't going to play in the tournaments have their fun and learn what they can before we start matches."

She nodded once in understanding.

"Do you like tennis, Koga-chan?"

She hummed, thinking about the question. "We play it in gym sometimes. I don't think I would ever like it enough to play on a team, but I wouldn't be against playing it if I had to. I'm not very good, though."

"I bet you're just being modest," Yukimura said. "People are generally better than they give themselves credit for."

"So says the captain of a National-level tennis team." She laughed softly and shook her head. "I don't know what was funny about that."

"Haven't you ever just smiled for no reason?" Yukimura asked. "I seem to be doing it a lot lately. I'm probably going to get wrinkles when I'm older."

He poked at his forehead, going cross eyed to look up. He heard her laugh again. He brought his hand back down as his eyes wondered to the courts. Niou had found a piece of poster board and written _KISS HER LIKE A MAN_ in large, black letters. Niou had a special talent for pulling things out of thin air just to embarrass people.

Yukimura's hand shot up into the air, showing all five fingers, and then he pulled them back into a zero – fifty. Next, he pointed to the court and mouthed, "Now."

"Are you alright, Yukimura-senpai?" Koga asked. When she looked over, Niou was running laps and Yagyuu was depositing the sign into the trash can.

"Peachy," he said. As he watched Niou run laps, he couldn't help but smile. "You know," he said, suddenly feeling as though his day had gotten ten times better, "Valentine's Day is coming up."

"It is," she said softly. "My friends are all looking up recipes for chocolates and stuff."

"Do you have anyone special?" he asked. He didn't know why he cared. He didn't know why he wanted her to say "you." He had never thought about whether or not she liked him. He always just assumed someone as quiet as her didn't date. The thought of her with someone else made him uneasy, maybe even a little jealous.

She tugged her jacket around her tightly. She didn't say anything.

Yukimura didn't know how to interpret that.

.

"You should come to practice more often, Koga-chan," Yukimura said after he walked out of the locker room. Yanagi and Sanada were hanging behind them, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.

"Yeah, maybe I will. That boy with the sign was funny."

"You saw that?"

"Yes, I saw that," she said with a smile. Softly, she added, "People spend their whole lives looking for signs. If you ever see one that blunt again, listen to it. I'll see you later, Senpai."

She turned and walked off, heading to the front of the school. Yukimura began to walk slower, allowing Sanada and Yanagi to catch up.

"She's distracting you from tennis," Sanada said immediately. "It's fine for now, but when Regionals and Nationals come around, you won't have time to flirt."

"Genchirou, it's fine. I'll practice when we get closer to the bigger tournaments," Yukimura promised. "Do you not like her or something?"

"No, I don't particularly like her."

"Why not?"

"She's distracting you from tennis," Sanada repeated. "That and she's kind. No one is kind to everyone, Seiichi."

"Seiichi, Genchirou, why don't you drop the subject before you begin to fight?" Yanagi suggested. Yukimura nodded and sighed. Sanada grumbled something. "Now, how about a trip to the book store before we work on the practice schedules?"

.

Their adventure to the book store was uneventful. Sanada had managed to find a book he didn't have in a series. He was the only one to buy anything. Yukimura was beginning to wonder if he and Yanagi had read every book out there. Obviously, they hadn't, but at times it certainly did see like that. After they left the little store, they headed over to X-treme to work on homework.

The bells chimed as they walked through the front door. His father waved from behind the counter, and then went back to refilling the registers' receipt paper. Emiko was leaning over the second floor loft, like she was waiting for them. She wasn't smiling or yelling; she was just there.

"I'll be there in a second," Yukimura said, walking towards the stairs. The two boys nodded, and headed for the back room as their captain climbed the set of stairs. He walked over to where his sister was, and leaned against the railing next to her.

The two stayed like that for some time. It was obvious Emiko wanted something; she was fiddling with her fingers. Yukimura was half annoyed that his sister was like that. She was so blunt, but when it was important, she lost all of her confidence. For how much she looked like their mother – brown hair that was always pulled back in some way or another, deep blue eyes that always seemed warm, dimples when she smiled – she was nothing like her.

Eventually, the young girl mumbled, "I can't remember it anymore. That song Mom used to sing. I can't remember it. I was in the shower this morning, and I couldn't remember it. I always sing it without thinking, but when I try to think of the words, I can't."

Yukimura shifted his legs and crossed his ankles. She had spoken softly, probably so their father wouldn't hear, so Yukimura responded softly as well. "I don't remember the words either. I have them written down somewhere, but I don't know them. I only know the tune."

"I don't even remember what she looks like," Emiko added solemnly. "Relatives say I look like her, but I don't remember, and I can't look at the pictures without getting sad."

"Is everything alright at school?"

"Yes," she answered automatically. She sighed, twisting her fingers together. "I've just been thinking about it a lot more than I used to. A lot of the girls I swim with were taught to braid their hair by their mom. I never got to do that. She was already dead when she should have taught me."

"Emiko, this isn't the time or place to talk about this," Yukimura said. "I need to go into the back room. Renji, Genchirou and I have to work out a schedule for tennis."

Emiko hesitated before nodding. Yukimura turned and headed for the stairs. She was mad and upset and horrified because she was forgetting her mother. Yukimura felt even worse because he couldn't comfort her. That was the one thing he couldn't be a good big brother at. He couldn't even admit that he understood how his sister felt.

Yukimura was half way down the stairs when she said, "Love you."

He twisted his head around and smiled warmly at her. "Ditto."

"You always say that," Emiko muttered so softly, Yukimura wondered if she had said it at all. He gave her a confused look, which she turned her head at, and then continued down the stairs. Behind him, he heard her sigh. Maybe he wasn't a good big brother at all.

When the captain reached the first floor, his father asked, "Is she alright? She isn't talking to me."

"Lady problems," Yukimura lied.

His father nodded once. "Does she need more lady things?"

"No. Just wanted to talk. She's fine."

His father nodded again. Yukimura walked towards the back room, realizing he had just lied to his father. He wasn't just a bad brother, he was a bad son. He sat almost silently as Yanagi and Sanada worked on the practice schedule.

* * *

**A/N: Calculus will be the death of me. Yes, I'm aware that this note has nothing to do with this chapter. Temari's note does. **

**T/N: Niou is so epic in this story, he really is ahaha! Koga is a nice contrast to some of the other girl OCs and I can't wait to see more of her in the future.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35.**

Marui was already getting used to his morning jog. He was finishing a little quicker each day. Jackal would probably suggest increasing the distance soon. Marui didn't know why, but he was looking forward to it. It was exciting to be doing something that would help them learn a new formation. He was still getting used to waking up to an alarm clock rather than Suzuki shouting in his face, but he was getting there.

He showed up to the locker room early for morning practice, and received a few odd looks from the early birds. Jackal was there, too, having finished his morning jog early as well. Marui grinned and said, "The ladies are gonna be all over me today. My butt hasn't looked this good in ages."

"I don't want to comment on any of that," Jackal said. "Isn't this your first Valentine's Day being single since our first year of junior high?"

Marui nodded and opened up his locker. "Yup. I'm a proud support of SAD this year. Single Awareness Day. May your hand be with you on this girlfriend-less day of horror."

"Now you're pushing it," Jackal said. "Are you going to accept your confessions this year? Chances are you'll get a good amount."

"Nah. I haven't been in a dating mood this year. I don't know why."

"Because you've dated half the females in the school?" Jackal suggested.

Marui shrugged. "Maybe. I can't tell. Still, I hope someone says something about my butt. This whole stamina program is kick ass."

Jackal rolled his eyes.

.

After a rather uneventful morning practice, Niou and Marui snuck out of the locker room trying to avoid any girls who might want to confess. It was cocky to think that girls would be all over them, but it happened year after year, and they really didn't want to suffer death by chocolate.

As Marui walked into the lobby, he spotted Suzuki at her cubby, staring inside. He walked over, Niou following curiously, and looked over her shoulder. Inside was an orange tootsie-pop pillow with a note attached to it.

"Akira, take it out. I wanna see who loves you, even though I already have a good idea," Marui said, reaching over her shoulder to pull the pillow out. The part that represented the candy was the size of her head and the stick ran the length of her torso.

"Shut up, Bunta," Suzuki snapped. She yanked the pillow from his hands and tugged the envelope off. She tucked the pillow under her arm, opening the letter.

"What's it say?" Niou asked.

"'A toots for my Toots,'" Suzuki read. Her face was bright red. "Ito?"

Niou doubled over in laughter.

"Be quiet." Suzuki punched him, but not as hard as she could. She stared at the card, a smile creeping onto her face. "We're just friends. It's a joke between friends."

"Akira, I'm pretty sure friends don't give each other candy on Valentine's Day," Marui pointed out.

"It's a pillow," she said.

"Shaped like a candy."

"It's only a pillow!"

"_Candy!_"

"_Pillow!_"

Niou chose that moment to slip out of the conversation before the two dragged him into their fight. He went to his cubby to change his shoes when he saw three slips of paper with phone numbers and names, and a bag of chocolates. He stuffed them into his bag, quickly changing his shoes.

As he walked up the stairs, he saw Kirihara in the corner. He was talking to a girl, making gestures Niou had done himself a thousand times. Niou could hear the impact of her palm on his cheek and Kirihara's, "You're the one who confessed..."

Niou headed to the student council room. He pressed his ear to the closed door, a smirk forming when he heard Chishu inside. He opened the door quickly. Chishu jumped. Yagyuu stared blankly at Niou.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Chishu turned bright red. She mumbled something that Niou couldn't understand as she dug through her bag. She pulled out a bag with three heart-shaped sugar cookies and handed them to him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Niou-senpai."

"Uh, you too?" Niou said. No other words came to his mind.

She smiled and left without another word, holding her bag tightly against her side.

When the door shut, Niou turned and stared at Yagyuu. "Oh, shit. Cupcake digs me. Hiroshi, what the fu–"

Yagyuu held up his own pack of sugar cookies. "She made six dozen bags. She said everyone deserves something on Valentine's Day. She does not dig you."

Niou narrowed his eyes slightly. "What's that inside your bag? And don't say the cookies."

Yagyuu set the bag down, eyes darting to a form in front of him. "A note."

Niou walked over, sitting on the desk. He reached for Yagyuu's cookies, but Yagyuu snatched them before the Trickster could touch them. "Oh, come on, Hiroshi. I just want to read it so I can do my I-told-you-so dance."

"It thanks me for helping her get used to the student council," Yagyuu said firmly. "Will you stop implying that she and I am an item?"

"Why are you getting all defensive?" Niou asked. "You'd only be defensive if you're dating. You're totally screwing each other's brains out. She likes it kinky, doesn't she?"

Yagyuu dropped the cookies onto Niou's lap. Niou read the note. That's all it was, a note thanking Yagyuu for helping her adjust to the school and student council. Her signature was curly and looked like a girl's. It was what was below her name made him smirk.

"You didn't have her phone number before this?" Niou asked. "She even drew a little heart."

"We had no reason to talk outside of school," Yagyuu said. He took the cookies and the note back, setting them on his desk. "I didn't want you to think into it."

"I'm mentioning this moment at your wedding," Niou said casually. Yagyuu glared. Niou ate one of Chishu's cookies.

.

Niou was forced to listen to Suzuki go on and on about the pillow during class. She was insistent that it was just a pillow; Marui kept telling her that Ito liked her. Then Ito popped in during lunch to ask if she liked his gift, and she spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what _that_ meant. Niou picked at Chishu's cookies during the day – they were pretty good.

Everyone was in love-mode that day. Marui kept saying he was a proud member of SAD, but no one believed him. He perked up whenever a girl walked by. No one mentioned his butt.

Suzuki, Marui and Niou let out sighs of relief when the final bell rang. They were all ready to get to practice and sweat out their frustration over the holiday. As they walked down the hall, Suzuki spotted Ito with some of the members of the softball and baseball teams. He waved her over.

"See you guys later," she said. She headed over, turning red when Etsuko asked why there was a giant tootsie-pop in her cubby. Ito smiled. Suzuki felt like she had been thrown into a terrible shoujo manga.

Niou and Marui headed down the stairs. When they reached the lobby, Kirihara walked up to them. He was rubbing his cheek.

"Hey, Akaya, looks like your two for two," Niou said.

"Four for four," Kirihara corrected.

"Ouch," Niou and Marui said in unison.

"If you think getting slapped four times is bad, you don't want to see my friend. He was slapped six times, twice by the same girl." Kirihara winced as he touched his cheek. "Why do girls have to slap you? They're the ones who confess. And what's with the long nails? Those things hurt."

"What do you say to these girls?" Marui asked as he pulled his shoes out of his cubby. He slipped a note with a phone number and a chocolate bar into his back pocket. "I only get slapped when I break up with a girl. I don't think I've ever been slapped for turning down a confession."

"I just said I don't want to date them," Kirihara answered.

"Do you give a reason why?" Niou asked.

"No. Should I?"

Marui and Niou groaned. "_Akaya_," Marui said with a heavy sigh. "If you don't give a reason, they'll assume you think they're ugly. You're supposed to say you're not interested in them at the moment, but hope you can still be friends."

"Why the hell do I need to do that?" Kirihara grumbled. "I'm not even friends with half of them."

"Akaya, we don't have time to recite the entire Guy Code to you. We need to get to practice. Sanada's always grumpy on Valentine's Day and I am not missing that," Niou said.

"Your still pissed he made you pay for new balls, aren't you?" Marui asked.

"Yup. I hope a girl confesses. He always looks like he's about to hang himself when girls confess to him. Maybe he'll go through with it this year."

Marui and Kirihara rolled their eyes.

.

Marui and Jackal headed off to the weight room after changing. Yukimura didn't even make them run laps anymore, which the rest of the members were quite jealous of. Niou and Kirihara walked out of the locker room, sighing when they saw Yukimura running laps. He made the regulars run until the last non-regular was done his laps. It usually meant an extra ten laps.

Laps finished just as Niou thought his legs were going to fall off. Yukimura walked halfway up his hill and collapsed. He rubbed at his calves, wondering when he got so out of shape. He decided to run laps with the team every day. He was getting too cocky, thinking he was above something so simple.

"Seiichi," Yanagi said as he walked over, "I noticed that you didn't accept any chocolates this year."

"I told them there was someone on my mind and the majority understood," Yukimura said. "My crushes seem to be slightly more adjusted than Akaya's."

Yanagi smiled and sat down, watching as Niou and Kirihara began singing some love song to Sanada.

.

"Kenta, give me a piece of chocolate," Urayama said as Oyama and he waited for someone to tell them what to do. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the first years once Sanada started yelling at Niou and Kirihara for serenading him.

"What makes you think I have chocolate?" Oyama asked. Without his piercings – school and club policy restricted them – he had a handsome aloofness to him.

"You always have something. Last week it was gummy worms. It's Valentine's Day so you obviously have chocolate, which I want."

Oyama sighed and reached into his pocket. He handed a tootsie-roll to his partner, who did a little happy dance as he unwrapped it.

"Are your parents working tonight?" Oyama asked curiously as he retrieved a tootsie-pop for himself. It was so easy to sneak candy because no one expected him of all people to have a soft spot for sugar.

"They're going out on a date or something," Urayama answered. "Wanna come over? I'm getting sushi delivered."

"Alright."

In the distance, they heard Sanada yell and Niou laugh when Kirihara made a heart with his hands and smiled at his vice-captain in an obviously sexual way.

.

Practice dragged on and on. As they changed to go home, some boys made plans, others gushing about chocolates and girlfriends. Niou, Yagyuu, Marui and Jackal left together, talking about going into town to get something to eat. Kirihara went outside, meeting up with Miyagi and Tanaka, who was holding a dozen roses from her boyfriend. Oyama was stopped by a girl, who he was then shoved into by Urayama.

"Seiichi, I'm assuming you're going into town," Yanagi said as he closed his locker. "Koga-chan is working today, if I'm not mistaken."

"I was going to stop by," Yukimura replied with a faint smile. "Wish me luck."

Yukimura waved quickly, leaving his two friends to lock up for the day. He headed towards the front gates, humming the song his mother used to sing to him. He had a feeling today was going to be the best Valentine's Day ever. He didn't know why.

.

Silly Lilies was busier than Yukimura had ever seen it. There was a sale on roses, and they were nearly out. A woman who wasn't old but not quite young came out through the back door carrying bins of fresh roses. Yukimura recognized her – she was Hara, the woman who owned the store.

Yukimura slid to the counter, careful not to make it look like he was cutting in line. Koga looked at him, hair falling out of her ponytail and onto her face. She blew at it only to have it get in her mouth. "Senpai, not now. I'm busy."

"Can I stay until things calm down?" he asked.

"Hara-san, can my friend stay until closing? He won't do anything bad." She handed a man a bouquet of roses and baby's breath, smiling as she said, "Thank you. Have a wonderful night."

"Yukimura-kun?" Hara said. "Of course he can, Koga-chan. This boy has been coming here for years! I'd love to catch up, but I'm busy. Feel free to bother Koga-chan."

Yukimura nodded. "Will do."

Hara laughed as she walked into the back room. Yukimura slipped behind the counter. He sat with his back pressed against the wall, poking Koga's ankle with his foot every now and then. He smiled the whole time and acted innocent. She was cute when she was mad, he realized.

.

It took ages for the store to calm down to its usual pace. When it finally did, Hara headed into the back of the store, saying she needed to check on the inventory. Koga jumped up onto the counter when her boss was out of sight, facing the front of the store. Yukimura got up and leaned against the counter next to her. The moment he went to say something, he heard a phone beep.

"Oh, that's mine. Would you mind getting it for me, Senpai?" she asked politely. She looked over her shoulder at a bag that was behind the counter. "It's in the side pocket."

"Sure." Yukimura walked behind the counter and knelt down next to her bag. He opened up the side pocket, raising an eyebrow when he saw a square, pink box with a bow around it. He spotted a white sticker with the name 'Yukimura' written on it. He grabbed her phone and the box, returning to the other side of the counter.

Koga snatched the chocolates and her phone from his hand. Her face flushed as quickly as her ears. "I said my phone!"

"I got your phone," Yukimura said. He jumped up onto the counter next to her. There wasn't much room so their shoulders brushed and their thighs were pressed together. "They have my name on them. The chocolates, I mean."

Koga closed her phone. It was only a text from her friend. Nothing important. "Well," she began somewhat nervously, "I just figured we've been talking a lot and stuff. I bought them out of impulse. It was a stupid idea."

"Can I have them?" Yukimura asked. He held his hand out. She just stared at him. "You were going to give them to me, weren't you?"

"Y-yeah." Koga handed him the box. He pulled off the ribbon and opened it. It was a small box with nine balls of chocolate, some solid, some with fillings. The lid said which ball was what, but he slipped it under the bottom so he couldn't see it. It made it more fun.

Yukimura picked up the first ball and bit it in half. "Coconut. Try it."

Koga turned her head, a piece of chocolate hovering by her lips. She extended her neck slightly, biting off half of what was left. "It's good," she said through the corner of her mouth.

Yukimura popped the rest of the coconut-filled-chocolate into his mouth. He picked up the one in the center, holding it out by her lips. She took a small bite and wrinkled her nose.

"What flavor?" he asked.

"Strawberry?" she said, uncertain.

Yukimura put the rest in his mouth. He made a face and shook when he swallowed it. "Yuck. I think it was processed strawberry flavor. When will companies learn strawberry flavor tastes nothing like real strawberries?"

She smiled. Her nervousness of giving him the chocolates was gone. She reached over and grabbed a white ball of chocolate. She bit it in half. "White chocolate with... peanuts?"

"Let me try," Yukimura said. She put it to his lips, and he pulled it into his mouth with his teeth. He shrugged. "It's alright. I've never been a fan of white chocolate. Here, try this one."

Koga took a bite of the ball he held to her lips. She hummed as she chewed and swallowed. "Mint. It's really good."

Yukimura finished it off, smiling. "That _is _good."

"Try that one," she said, pointing to a darker ball.

Yukimura bit it in half, taking slightly longer to chew it. Mouth still full, he covered his lips with his hand to say, "Solid dark chocolate."

She took it into her mouth with her teeth when he held it out to her. When she finally chewed it enough so she could swallow, she said, "I like dark chocolate."

Koga picked up another ball, holding it out for him. He bit it in half and laughed when he pulled his face away from the chocolate – a strand of caramel ran out of the candy and stuck to his chin. Koga smiled and popped the rest of the candy into her mouth. Then she reached over, her thumb near his chin.

"Can I?" she asked.

Yukimura nodded once.

She brushed the caramel off, unable to meet his eyes in that moment. Her thumb was soft and smelled like chocolate. When she finished, she pulled her thumb back and put the pad into her mouth, licking the sugary substance off.

"Koga-chan," Yukimura said as she pulled her thumb away from her lips, "you missed a spot."

"Hmm? Where?"

"Here." He leaned in slowly, giving her plenty of time to move away. He was glad she didn't. Her lips tasted like chocolate and caramel. It was a soft kiss, something a first kiss between two people should be. He pulled back slightly, she smiled, and he kissed her again.

The three remaining chocolates balls were left forgotten.

* * *

**A/N: Really, what else did you expect from me? **

**Also, I've been asked quite a lot how long this story will be. I don't feel comfortable giving a number, but it will definitely be over seventy chapters. The Kanto Tournament isn't until around chapter 60, and then I have a month or so between then and Nationals. Each month is around ten chapters, give or take a few. With the tennis stuff, it'll probably be a little longer since I actually want to do some of the matches. **


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36.**

Yukimura thought he would never stop smiling. He was beyond ecstatic. He felt like he could take on anyone and win. He felt like he could fly, like he could walk on water, like he was on top of the world. Even when Sanada opened his locker and lizards scampered out, Yukimura was still smiling and oblivious to the world around him (and the lizards). It was the best feeling ever, he decided, knowing that she was his and no one else's.

Yukimura opened his locker, humming that song his mother used to sing to him. He didn't even notice his vice-captain walking up to him, slightly shaken.

"Seiichi, Niou is trying to kill me," Sanada said. "And apparently the first years are afraid of reptiles."

"Sorry, Genchirou, what was that?" Yukimura asked.

"Seiichi," Yanagi said as he walked up to the two, holing a lizard in his hand, "what exactly happened yesterday? You texted me last night saying you had a wonderful day, but refused to say anything else."

"Koga-chan and I are going to the aquarium this weekend," Yukimura said with a bright smile. "After the awkward does-this-mean-we're-going-out?-talk we made plans for Saturday. She's coming to afternoon practice again. Why are you holding a lizard?"

"You're dating her?" Sanada asked in a tone that Yukimura couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Well, not officially. We're just going on a date. How many dates does it take to be official?" Yukimura asked, looking at Yanagi. "Again, why are you holding a lizard?"

"You're only official once you're on facebook, according to Niou," Yanagi said. The lizard was squirming in his hand. "However, I do not believe there is a set number. It depends on the people."

"Speaking of Niou, he put lizards in my locker," Sanada said, finally answering Yukimura's question. The vice-captain felt something hit his ankle and looked down. A lizard was on his shoe, its tail rubbing against his ankle. It was scaly and cold and gross. Sanada shook it off. "Seiichi, we can talk about Koga-chan later. Can you please do something about the lizards?"

"How many ran out?" Yukimura asked curiously.

"Six," Yanagi said. "Niou is running sixty laps, ten for each lizard."

"And how many have been caught?" Yukimura asked.

Yanagi held the one in his hand up a little higher. "One. Oh, and it had a note. Genchirou, it's for you. At least, I'm assuming it is because the lizards were in your locker."

Yanagi reached into his pocket with his free hand and handed Sanada slip of paper. It had been tied around the lizard. Sanada unfolded it, reading the note over. He swallowed hard. "'Prank War IV has begun,'" he read.

Yukimura's smile might have faltered at that moment, but it returned full force when he saw that Koga had texted him. Even the Trickster and his lizards couldn't dampen his mood.

.

Everyone from the tennis club was forced to stay inside the locker room until they gathered the lizards. They put them in a cage they found in Niou's locker. When they arrived late to class with the excuse our-crazy-senpai-put-lizards-in-a-locker, the teachers were certain there was some new drug craze. Yukimura went to every single classroom and apologized during lunch. When he stuck his head into Koga's room to explain, he ended up talking to her for ten minutes. In the end, he had to go to the main office so attendance records could be fixed.

Afternoon practice couldn't come soon enough. As Yukimura walked by the courts with Yanagi and Sanada, he saw Koga sitting on the hill, playing a game on her phone. The captain called her name and she looked up, waving at him. He waved back.

He changed as quickly as he could. He ended up with his shorts on backwards twice, which he didn't even think was possible. He jogged out of the locker room, heading straight over towards Koga. He sat next to her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Senpai," she said softly, "isn't that practically screaming that we're – you know?"

"Does it bother you if people know?" Yukimura asked. "If so, we might have a bit of a problem."

She shrugged slightly. "Not really. I'm just – Well, I've only dated one other guy and that didn't last long. I'm just not used to this sort of thing. It's kinda embarrassing, kissing in public and stuff."

"No PDA?"

"No PDA."

"Duly noted," Yukimura said with a nod. She smiled, wondering when she last heard someone use that phrase. She wasn't even sure if she _had _heard anyone use that phrase outside of a movie before. A moment later, Yukimura added, "You can drop the 'senpai.'"

She nodded and pulled her knees into her chest. "Alright, Yukimura."

.

"She's distracting him," Sanada said as he jogged alongside Yanagi. "He hardly practices as it is, and now he doesn't do anything."

"Genchirou, think of it this way: Seiichi is a selfish person and dating someone like Koga-chan will be good for him," Yanagi reasoned. "He'll begin to practice once we begin matches. However, until that time, I think it's best to let him be happy. He hasn't smiled that way in months."

"I suppose," Sanada murmured. "He's going to be a wreck when they end it."

"We should stop talking about this. It's rude," Yanagi said. Sanada nodded once. Niou ran past and Sanada stiffened. "Genchirou, are you afraid of Niou?"

"He declared war, Renji," Sanada said in a very serious tone. "I can't let my guard down."

Yanagi smiled slightly. "You sound like Tezuka."

"I understand why he says it."

They continued their laps in silence. Occasionally, Niou would run by. Sanada figured he got a kick out of torturing him. Niou always had a weird, twisted sense of humor that Sanada never understood.

"I'm leaning towards going to Italy," Yanagi admitted, breaking the silence. It took Sanada a moment to realize what Yanagi was talking about. "I haven't told Seiichi. I don't plan to tell Seiichi."

"But you still haven't made a finalized decision about the study abroad program?"

"No. Though the more I look into it, the more I like the idea. I was exaggerating about it affecting my family. We're fairly well off, and the program pays for almost everything besides food, which the school provides."

"I see..."

"The language program really is amazing." Yanagi sighed heavily, something he rarely did, let alone during laps where anyone could see. "Seiichi changes the subject whenever I bring up Italy. He told me he didn't want me to go and refused to say anything else."

"You know how he is," Sanada said. To anyone else, it would have been a vague statement. To them, it was crystal clear.

"I know." Yanagi sped up slightly, finishing up his last five laps. Sanada sped up as well, listening as Yanagi continued. "He's just been more distant than usual it seems. I think it's his form of mental preparation for leaving high school. He's mentally stressed."

"He has tennis. He has Koga-chan. Obviously he's fine."

There was a hint of bitterness in his voice that took Yanagi off guard.

"He has you. He's your best friend," Yanagi said. Sanada opened his mouth to say that they were both his best friends, but Yanagi kept talking. "Yes, I am his friend. However, I know you two are closer. You're there for him in a way that I can't be. Close friendships aren't my forte."

"They're not mine either."

"Yes, but you have seen Seiichi at his worst. It was you who he called after his mother's death, not me. You're his vice-captain. You're the one who sat with him the night before his surgery. He trusts you more than he does me."

Sanada wanted to believe Yanagi's words, but he didn't. Yukimura was cold, distant. As far as Sanada was concerned, Yukimura didn't give a damn about him.

They finished their laps in silence.

* * *

**A/N: Any guesses on what's wrong with Sanada? (No, it's not love.) I've been hinting (screaming) that something is wrong for quite some time. I'm curious, what do you guys think? **

**Anonymous reviewer: **I'm glad you like the story and the humor. This story does have some more serious plot lines (Kirihara and Sanada), but those don't start/finish until around chapter 50. Koga sticks around for a bit, and Yukimura's always a bit of a softie around her :)

**T/N: Sanada and the lizards ahaha! And I really love Yanagi's characterization. He's such a boss. XD**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37.**

At the end of afternoon practice, Yukimura made an announcement regarding the regular-challenges. Most people didn't listen, and their captain's words going in one ear and out the other. He said that anyone who wanted to sign up could do so on the sheet attached to the notice board.

Kirihara groaned at his locker when Yukimura finished talking. "Can't Yanagi-senpai do the challenges for once? They're boring."

"Akaya, you do the challenges for a reason," Yanagi said.

"Yeah, 'cause no one can beat you guys," Kirihara mumbled.

"Akaya, watch your tone and just do as you're told," Sanada ordered.

The regulars changed and left in their little cliques. Yukimura left with Sanada and Yanagi to go to his father's store. Yagyuu and Niou left together, but went separate ways at the school gate. Kirihara left and called one of his friends, asking if they wanted to hang out and do something. They had always been like that – separated, yet together in some strange way.

Marui and Jackal headed out without changing, looking for Urayama and Oyama so they could go to the street courts and work on their new formation. Jackal spotted Urayama's pink hair by a tree – it was hard to miss. The closer they got to the first years, the louder their voices were.

"Kenta, you're so stupid, thinking I'll let you get away with this," Urayama said. Oyama was sitting next to Urayama, a white stick hanging out of his lips. They hadn't changed out of the tennis uniforms either, though Oyama had put in his earrings, which were apparently against school dress code.

"Does he smoke?" Marui asked.

Jackal looked shocked. "I hope not."

Urayama and Oyama looked up when the two third years stopped in front of them. Marui leaned down, pulling on the stick in Oyama's mouth. The first year opened his mouth, allowing Marui to take it out.

"Oh." Marui felt dumb as he stared at the red candy at the end of the stick.

"Lollipop," Oyama said. "Can I have it back?"

"He took it from me," Urayama explained as Marui handed it back to Oyama. Urayama took it from his partner and stuck it into his mouth with a grin.

"I don't smoke, Senpai," Oyama said, eyeing the stick hanging out of Urayama's mouth. There was a hint of teasing in his voice, but his words still seemed cold. "Shiita, that was mean."

Urayama grinned.

"Come on," Marui said, "let's get going. I gotta be home for dinner."

.

They went to the street courts that were close to the high school. They were relieved when they saw that the courts were almost empty – only a few junior high kids were hanging around. They didn't want to risk other schools in the tournament knowing about their new formation.

The four set their bags on a bench and got their racquets out of their bags. Oyama and Urayama were both right handed, which was strange for doubles, but not unheard of. They probably chose to be partners rather than being assigned.

"How about we try actually switching positions today?" Jackal suggested as he pulled a ball out of his bag. "We need to do it eventually."

Oyama nodded after thinking about it for a second. "Okay, but it's not going to be easy. You've played one style for six years, and your bodies are used to that. It'll be like starting over as partners."

"It can't be that hard," Marui said. "Let's go. It'll be easy as pie."

.

It was as hard as fruitcake.

Marui felt like a doll being dragged from left to right. Urayama and Oyama were purposefully aiming at the corners, forcing Marui to run. His legs were on fire, his knees shaking and hitting each other as he stood. It felt like ages before the ball reached him. The anticipation of those few extra seconds made his nerves settled in his stomach, making his sick.

Jackal wasn't doing much better. When he was at the back, he had time to find the ball. At the net, it was in front of him in an instant. He was barely able to react fast enough to hit the balls back. In the rare case that he managed to hit a ball, it was out.

Marui reached his arm out, practically lunging to reach the corner. He was short. His arms didn't reach that far, and he wasn't fast enough to compensation for that. The ball blew past him. That was it. He had had enough. He growled in frustration, tossing his racquet against the court.

"_Jackal!_" Marui yelled. He stormed up to his partner, shoving him back several steps. "Get your act together and hit the ball for once in your life!"

"You don't hit half the balls when you're up at the net!" Jackal shouted.

"But you have better stamina! If I miss a ball, you can hit it! I can barely keep up back here because you're being lazy and refusing to hit easy shots!" Marui retorted. "Half of these balls you can hit! The ball isn't going to hurt you!"

The two continued to shout, their argument drawing the attention of everyone on the courts. Urayama and Oyama jumped over the net, rushing over to their bickering doubles pair. Oyama walked right between the two and shoved them apart without hesitation.

"What the hell?" Marui snapped.

"Get it together," Oyama said. "I told you it would be hard. It takes practice. Fighting with each other won't do anything."

"It doesn't," Urayama agreed. "You need to trust each other. Marui-senpai, Jackal-senpai is trusting you to hit the balls he doesn't. Jackal-senpai, Marui-senpai needs you to put yourself in front of the ball and attack. If either of you doesn't trust the other, you'll fight."

"I trust him," Jackal said.

"Yeah, same here," Marui mumbled.

"Then get back in position and we'll try again," Oyama said.

Marui and Jackal looked at each other, nodded, and then got back in place. Oyama and Urayama returned to the other side of the court, wondering how the hell those two were going to do this in a National-level match.

.

Jackal put himself in front of the ball. He didn't care that his shots went out – he was hitting the ball, he was doing his part. He would worry about the rest later. All that mattered was playing.

Marui reached the balls. He began to read Jackal's movements. He knew when his partner would hit the ball and when he wouldn't, and when he would need to run after a stray ball. It didn't matter that Jackal didn't hit every ball because Marui was there to hit every ball Jackal didn't.

It was rough, but it was beginning to look like a formation.

Urayama just grinned when one of Jackal's shots went flying by him. "Kenta, I think that's it for today."

"Come on, we were just getting into it!" Jackal complained. He was barely breathing hard. When he looked back at Marui, he saw his partner lying on his back, staring up at the sky, completely exhausted. "Or maybe we can finish."

"Thank you!" Marui shouted before he broke out into laughter. Jackal walked back to him, holding out a hand for Marui to grab. Jackal pulled his partner to his feet, wiping Marui's sweat off his hand. "I think my legs turned to jelly."

The four walked back over to the bench, Marui stumbling more than once. The red head collapsed, his chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. Oyama reached into his bag, pulling out his wallet.

"Do you guys want something to drink?" Oyama asked. "I'm running to the machines."

"Water," Marui and Jackal answered at the same time. Marui's sounded more like a wheeze than a request.

Oyama nodded and looked at his partner. "Shiita, what do you want?"

"Gatorade."

"What flavor?"

"Purple."

"Purple isn't a flavor."

Urayama sighed. "Kenta, you know what I mean. No one knows the Gatorade flavors. They just say the colors. Dur."

Oyama rolled his eyes and jogged off. Urayama sat down next to the third years, pushing his hair out of his face. His pink hair seemed darker when it was damp with sweat.

"Are you guys going to sign up for regular-challenges?" Jackal asked curiously.

Urayama nodded. "Yup. We're going to challenge Niou-senpai and Yagyuu-senpai. We figured it'll be easy than challenging you guys. You guys know how we play. And I never really got Niou-senpai's tricks."

"Because you follow the ball, not your opponents' movements," Jackal remembered. Urayama nodded again. "Why do you do that? Akaya said you had ADHD or something."

"Yeah, I do," Urayama said, not sounding the least bit uncomfortable or offended. "During my second year of junior high they diagnosed it. I take meds so it's not that bad anymore. My grades are better. Kind of."

"That's good," Marui said, unsure of what else to say. He hated being in that situation' not knowing what to say, but feeling like he needed to say _something._ It was like that awkward moment when you don't want to text someone anymore and they just won't stop sending you messages.

Urayama felt something pressing against his head. He reached up, grabbing the purple Gatorade Oyama was holding there. He grinned. "Thanks, Kenta."

"Here, Marui-senpai, Jackal-senpai," Oyama said, handing them their water bottles. Oyama sat on the ground since there wasn't enough room on the bench. He opened a can of juice, taking a long sip. When he swallowed the sweet liquid, he looked at Marui. "Senpai, you raised up your stamina so you don't have to eat cakes anymore, right?"

Marui nodded. "Yup. Two years ago I trained on low oxygen. Why?"

"I was just curious," Oyama said. "I just realized you don't eat cakes anymore."

"He went through sugar withdrawal," Jackal joked. "It was funny."

"Shut up," Marui muttered. "It was hard. Akira kept bringing me cakes every damn day just to make me mad. Then she ate them in front of me."

Everyone but Marui laughed.

.

The four settled down talking and laughing about this and that. Urayama stretched his arms above his head and looked at the courts. Then he turned his head towards his red headed senpai.

"Marui-senpai, when do you need to go?" Urayama asked.

Marui checked his phone for the time. "An hour," he said, slipping his phone back into his bag. "Why?"

"Can you help me with Tightrope Walking?"

"Yeah. Totally forgot about that."

The two headed out onto the court, one walking onto each side.

Oyama crawled onto the bench, rolling his shoulders. They watched as their partners started up a rally, Urayama hitting Tightrope Walking. Marui shouted for him to freeze, jumping over the net to look at his posture.

"Urayama-kun told us you two are going to challenge Niou and Yagyuu," Jackal mentioned. "Do you guys have a plan?"

Oyama nodded. "Shiita isn't affected by Niou-senpai's psychological play, so he can be up at the net. Niou-senpai and Yagyuu-senpai drag out matches, using trick plays to score. We figured the best thing to do is to attack. We just need to finish the match before Shiita runs out of energy."

"That's smart."

The two fell into silence, watching their partners. Marui was scratching his head, trying to figure out why Urayama's Tightrope Walking didn't work one hundred percent of the time. The ball was rolling, but it just wasn't rolling long enough, or it tittered to the wrong side. They were around the same height. His form was perfect, but his follow through was a bit strange – though, that shouldn't have affected the shot because the ball already left the racquet...

"Raise your spin," Marui said before he jumped over the net to get to the other side of the court. He couldn't find anything wrong with his form. Maybe it was the actual hit?

"'kay, 'kay," Urayama chanted with a smile.

"So how does someone like you get along with Urayama-kun?" Jackal asked curiously. "You two seem like complete opposites."

Oyama shrugged. "I just do."

Jackal nodded. He had no idea what that meant, and he didn't feel comfortable asking.

.

They left the courts together. Urayama's Tightrope Walking still wasn't perfect, but Marui promised to help him again. Marui didn't usually teach people his moves. He had created them with his own sweat and genius. There were_ his_. Yet Urayama was different. The first year had figured out the move – not to the extent that Marui had, but figured it out nonetheless. Besides, it was the least he could do for Urayama in return for his help.

As they walked, Oyama and Jackal hung behind Marui and Urayma.

"Urayama, how do you play doubles with Oyama? You're different," Marui said.

"I don't know." Urayama looked over his shoulder. Oyama and Jackal were talking about the regular-challenges. Jackal was saying something about Yagyuu's Laser. Urayama looked at Marui. "I guess I just do. Why do you get along with Jackal-senpai?"

"Good point."

The four went different ways a little farther ahead. Marui and Jackal took a left, Urayama and Oyama continuing straight. Oyama told Urayama he wanted a lollipop in return for the one Urayama took earlier. Urayama said it was his to begin with, so he didn't owe Oyama anything.

"Do you understand them?" Marui asked once they were out of hearing distance. "They kinda freak me out for some reason."

"Ditto. They're just, you know?"

"Yeah."

* * *

**A/N: I'm updating instead of writing an essay for my college application (because I'm not using the satire on the zombie apocalypse that I wrote). **


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38.**

Everyone in the tennis club stood around the courts or sat in the bleachers when regular-challenges began. Anyone who was challenging for a spot was standing on a court in front of Yukimura, who had the signup sheet in his hand.

"We'll start with singles," Yukimura announced. "Anyone who is challenging for doubles can go to the bleachers. You will be allowed five minutes to warm up before your match."

Yukimura waited for the doubles players to walk away. During that time, Kirihara had walked up beside his captain, racquet resting on his shoulder. He looked agitated – it was obvious he didn't want to be playing the challengers.

"Let me remind you all of the rules," Yukimura said. "To become a singles player, you must defeat Akaya with a score of 6-3 or better. Same goes for doubles. The regulars have been instructed to go easy on you. If that makes you mad, which it should, then use that rage to your advantage. We'll be going by the order in which you signed up. Kubo, you're first."

A nervous looking third year walked onto the courts. Kirihara sighed – there were never any good singles players. That was a lie. Everyone on the team was good. It was just that no one good enough to beat him 6-3 besides Yanagi, Sanada and Yukimura, who never played him.

Sanada climbed up into the referee chair, the rest of the regulars sitting on nearby benches.

.

Only one of the singles players managed to get a game from Kirihara, and that was after Yukimura told him to bring it down a notch. Marui and Niou played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would be starting off the doubles challenges. Marui lost.

"Come on, Jackal," Marui said with a groan of annoyance. "Let's go play."

Jackal got up and stretched his arms over his head as he followed Marui onto the courts.

Kirihara sat on a bench next to Yanagi and Yukimura. "Nice job, Akaya," Yanagi said. "But you should practice your serve. It's getting rusty. I doubt you meant for the ball to fly the way it did during that last game."

Kirihara scrunched up his nose. "I know. I got tired, okay? There were thirteen guys. That's a lot."

"Marui and Jackal have five pairs," Yukimura said, checking the list of challengers. "Niou and Yagyuu have one. First years."

Kirihara smiled. Urayama and Oyama. That would be a good match.

.

Marui and Jackal finished their matches in record time. Not even one team managed to score a game. Only one managed to score points. Marui was generally pretty aggressive in those matches – he and Jackal always had more challengers than Niou and Yagyuu, and the reason was obvious. Everyone thought Marui was weak. So Marui added in some extra kick ass just to prove them wrong.

"Next! Urayama-Oyama versus Niou-Yagyuu!" Yukimura called.

A few of the members began to murmur amongst themselves as they watched the first years walk onto the court. Some people called them cocky, saying first years were allowed to challenge regulars but weren't supposed to. A few of the first years who had been regulars in junior high pushed to the front, eager to watch the two play.

Urayama was laughing, Oyama smiling beside him. Niou slung his racquet over his shoulder, slowly walking onto the courts and tilting his head to the side. Marui tossed Yagyuu a ball as he walked off the court with Jackal to join the other regulars.

"'roshi, isn't Akaya obsessed with Ice-Cream-Head and his partner?"

"I believe so."

Niou smirked. "Let's show Akaya that they're nothing special, 'kay?"

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up.

The four walked up to the net. Yagyuu and Niou had to look down at Urayama, but Oyama was their height, maybe a little taller. To anyone else, Oyama would have looked terrifying. To Niou, the Trickster, he was just a tall guy. To Yagyuu, the first year was nothing more than someone he was going to defeat.

"Call it," Niou said. He put the tip of his racquet on the court and spun it.

"Rough," Oyama and Urayama said in unison.

The racquet clattered to a stop against the court. Niou picked it up, bringing it up so he could see the 'N' on the bottom of the handle. It was rough.

"You brats serve."

Yagyuu tossed Oyama the ball. Yagyuu raised an eyebrow when he caught it. "You're both right handed? Strange. Doubles pair usually have a lefty and a righty."

"Usually," Urayama said as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Niou pointed to their wrists. "Take those off."

"Take yours off," Oyama said. His voice was level, but it seemed low, dangerous.

Niou put on his signature smirk. "I'll take them off when you make me. Don't think that bad boy look works on everyone. Now get to the baseline and serve."

Oyama headed to the baseline without another word. He reached up, tying his hair back into a tight ponytail that swung as he walked. Niou raised his eyebrows fractionally for the briefest of moments – the giant, bad ass ogre didn't have a temper. Then his eyebrows lowered and his lips twisted up into a wolf-like grin. He wanted to break that boy and make him scream in fury.

"Urayama-Oyama pair versus Niou-Yagyuu pair! One set match, Oyama to serve!" Sanada called.

Oyama served without hesitation.

The serve was faster than any of the other challengers had showed, but it wasn't nearly fast enough to get an ace. Yagyuu hit the ball back, his shot fast and ferocious. Urayama went to move, but Niou stood directly opposite of him like a giant wall blocking him.

Urayama stopped moving completely; Niou stopped as well. The ball flew past them and towards Oyama.

Marui and Jackal weren't surprised to see that Urayama wasn't the least bit phased by Niou blocking his movements. Kirihara didn't look that surprised either. Urayama's play style was to focus on the ball. Niou's psychological play was based on his opponent paying attention to him. It was a stalemate that neither could win.

Urayama chased after the ball when he could see it, breaking away from Niou. Niou followed him, flinching the first time Urayama hit the ball at him – he had done the same the first time Kirihara shot a ball at him. Niou hoped to the side without a second thought, returning the ball to his body with ease.

"Niou's been working on his footwork," Yanagi noticed.

"Isn't that a single-footed-split-step that Niou-senpai just did?" Kirihara asked.

Yanagi nodded in confirmation.

Kirihara scowled – Niou had copied his move. Didn't that guy do anything that was purely his? Imitating Yagyuu, imitating others... He was a copycat through and through.

Yagyuu shot the ball to the baseline. Oyama swore under his breath, barely able to register that Yagyuu had hit the ball and that it was in. Yagyuu's shots were faster than he expected. His Laser would be even faster.

"Love-15."

Oyama served the ball again. Niou hit it back, going up to the net – a poach. It didn't matter, though. Urayama's eyes followed the ball, returning Niou's drop shot with ease with a shot over their heads.

"15-15."

Another serve. Urayama stepped right in front of Yagyuu's return, tilting his wrist and bending his knees as he hit it back. The ball rolled along the net for a short moment, tittering on the net. It rolled off, landing in front of Urayama's feet. An imperfect Tightrope Walking.

"15-30."

Urayama rotated his wrist and frowned. He had done it just like Marui had showed him. Why didn't it work like his did? Their plan was to attack until the end. If his attack didn't work, how would they win?

"Shiita," Oyama said, "don't worry about it."

Urayama nodded and gripped his racquet a little tighter. It didn't matter. He would get it next time. When Oyama's serve went flying past his head, his eyes were drawn to the ball.

.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama! 3 games to 2! Urayama-Oyama lead. Yagyuu to serve."

Yagyuu took his place at the baseline. Oyama rocked back and forth on the other side of the court, waiting. Yagyuu tossed the ball up into the air.

"They're keeping their service games," Kirihara pointed out. "Niou-senpai is having too much fun. I hate it when he plays around. It freaks me out."

"I think it's Yagyuu who's having too much fun," Marui said. "That guy hasn't used his Laser."

"You're supposed to play around during the challenge matches," Yukimura reminded them. "Unless you honestly believe you're going to lose. If you play around, you can drag the match out, show how much the challenger actually knows. However, I believe Niou simply likes to screw with people."

The regulars returned their attention to the rally. Niou was sticking to Urayama like glue to paper. Urayama jerked to a stop in front of Niou, the ball flying by his head as Yagyuu and Oyama rallied.

"Niou-senpai, you're not that scary."

Niou's face remained blank. Urayama kept talking.

"Kenta's a lot scarier than you are."

Oyama rushed the net, causing Niou to swear out loud. He had been too distracted by the brat to actually follow the match. He was getting weak, he decided, he was the Trickster, not the Tricked.

Niou was forced to lob back Oyama's drop shot. Urayama suddenly took several steps back and then jumped, smashing the ball behind the two third years.

"Love-15."

"He's short, but he knows when to jump," Yukimura commented. "Timing is more important than anything. If you can get in a well timed shot, you can change the flow of the game."

"We know that," Kirihara muttered.

"What was that, Akaya?" Yukimura asked a little too kindly.

"Nothing, Buchou." Kirihara laughed nervously.

Watching Urayama and Oyama play another doubles pair fascinated Marui and Jackal. Yes, they had seen the first years play those idiots at the street courts, but their talent hadn't been brought out. Niou and Yagyuu were slowly pushing the two, forcing them to do their best. They weren't the best just yet, but they were good. They would be the best one day, the two realized.

"It's like a circus," Jackal said as he watched the two first years rally against Niou and Yagyuu. "I can't believe I didn't see that earlier."

"I see it too," Marui said. "Tightrope Walking. Urayama's weird movements."

"That's their name," Kirihara said. "The Circus Pair. The name makes more sense when they take off their weights and do their other moves. They got it during Nationals two years ago when they dominated a doubles pair from Seigaku. Their opponents forfeited during the fifth game."

"Why?" Yanagi asked. "I apologize, Akaya, but none of us went to see that match. We only watched the finals against Hyotei. You won without these two playing, if I recall correctly."

"That guy's the reason why they forfeited," Kirihara said. "Oyama Kenta. The Ringmaster."

"Ringmaster?" Yukimura questioned. Having a nickname himself, Yukimura knew they meant a lot. Normal players didn't get them. Of course, all of the Rikkaidai regulars did, but that was obvious. They were the best.

"He makes shots at crucial moments to allow Urayama-kun to attack. His partner just hits the ball, but Oyama-kun thinks things through," Yanagi said thoughtfully. "He controls everything, including his partner who has a disorder that makes him chaotic and impulsive by nature. Am I right, Akaya?"

Kirihara nodded. "Yeah. Something like that."

"But that doesn't explain why someone would forfeit," Marui pointed out.

"Oyama's a nice guy despite the whole piercings and long hair thing. For someone who looks like a punk, he's pretty calm and keeps his emotions under control," Kirihara began to explain. "But he has a short temper when Urayama is involved. I don't know a lot about their home lives, but I know they're both kinda on their own. They're neighbors or something and took care of each other when they were kids. I think they still take care of each other.

"During that match, Urayama went after the ball and it ended up hitting his arm. It wasn't his dominant arm, so he was allowed to keep playing. But Oyama changed. He got mad. Really mad. Like, I could have sworn he was in demon mood for a second. He scared his opponents off the courts. _Literally. _I refused to let them play in the finals against Hyotei after that."

When the regulars turned their attention back to the match, they felt the air grow heavy.

.

"Game, Niou-Yagyuu! 4 games to 4! Oyama to serve."

"To become a regular doubles pair, the challenger must win 6-3. They've passed the three game limit," Yanagi said, stating the obvious. "Should we end the match?"

"Let them play until the end," Yukimura decided. "This is the first time a pair has taken four games in a long time. Besides, I think it would be unwise to stop them now."

No one was quite sure who Yukimura was referring to. Niou's movement were calculated and exact like his eyes were in that moment, and Yagyuu didn't need to tell Niou to get serious – the two weren't playing at top level, but they were playing well enough to prove that those two first years were good. Urayama was bouncing on the balls of his feet, waiting for an opportunity, and Oyama's gaze was determined and unreadable. The four refused to take off their weights because doing so would be the same as admitting defeat.

Oyama suppressed a groan when Niou's shot caught Urayama off guard.

"Love-15."

Urayama laughed it off, the feeling of missing an easy shot leaving him quickly enough.

Oyama served again. Niou and Yagyuu were both around the middle of the court. Urayama waited for a chance to move in and attack, to use Tightrope Walking to seal a point. Niou and Yagyuu weren't going to give him the chance.

Urayama didn't see Yagyuu's feet shift to their telltale position. He didn't see Yagyuu's hands shift. He started to move the second the ball left Yagyuu's racquet as a blur.

"Shiita, don't hit that ball!" Oyama shouted. His feet were already moving like he somehow knew Urayama wouldn't listen. "It's his Laser!"

But Urayama was already there. He could see it, he could hit it, and he _would_ hit it.

Then Oyama collided with his side, fast and hard, pushing Urayama down against the court as the ball flew to the empty base line. Urayama's cheek scrapped against the courts as they slid to a stop. He rolled onto his back, looking up at Oyama. When Urayama looked down between their bodies, he spotted Oyama's knees, red and bloody from rubbing against the courts when he tackled Urayama.

"Kenta, what the heck was that for? Your knees –"

"You didn't listen to me," Oyama cut in. "I said, don't hit it."

Urayama tilted his head back, looking up at his partner. Why would Oyama do that? He didn't need to do that. He didn't need to get hurt for him. "Kenta, I could have –"

"Yes, you could have," Oyama admitted. Glancing across the court at Yagyuu, Oyama stood up, his legs shaking beneath him as pain gathered in his knees. The Gentleman was staring back at him, waiting for Oyama to say it. "But it would have broken your wrist."

Yagyuu slowly let his eyes leave Oyama. He looked at Sanada and said, "They need first aid. This match is our win by default."

Oyama looked over at Sanada. "I can't stand much longer, Fukubuchou. We forfeit."

Sanada nodded. "Urayama-Oyama will be forfeiting for medical reasons. Niou-Yagyuu win!"

"Marui, get the first aid kit," Yukimura ordered. Marui nodded and jogged off to the locker room. Yukimura got up and walked over to the courts. Oyama held out a hand, pulling Urayama to his feet. Yukimura stopped next to them, glancing between the shorter boy and the ridiculously tall one.

"Why did you let us keep playing?" Oyama asked. Urayama poked at his skinned cheek and winced.

"It was a good match," Yukimura said with a soft smile that lasted for a second. His face was firm and strong as he continued. "You'll start doing the third years' sets during practice and will run twenty extra laps. You won't be playing in the tournaments, but you'll train to play in them. Do you understand me?"

Oyama nodded once. "So we're not regulars, but we're being treated like them?"

"Very good, Oyama-kun." Yukimura smiled again, that brief moment of pure strength gone, hidden somewhere inside that feminine man. Just then, Marui appeared next to them, holding a small white box. "Make sure to keep your knees clean. Your cheek, too, Urayama-kun."

Oyama stared as he watched their captain walk away. Urayama slapped the tall boy on the back, grinning from ear to ear. Marui walked to a nearby bench, the two first years following after him.

"Kenta! Be happy!" Urayama practically shouted.

"I am happy." Oyama poked his partner's injured cheek. "Be quiet and let Marui-senpai clean your cheek."

.

Yukimura walked over to the referee's chair and leaned against it. Sanada looked down at his captain; Yukimura was still watching the two first years. Oyama was sitting on a bench, his legs shaking from the pain in his knees. Urayama sat next to him, whimpering when Marui began to dab his cheek with a cotton ball dipped in hydrogen peroxide.

"I want them on the team," Sanada said bluntly. "Having another doubles team will be good, even if they're nowhere near the level of Niou and Yagyuu, or Marui and Jackal."

"I don't want anyone else knowing about them," Yukimura replied. "They're a good pair, but they have a lot of weak points. Data players will analyze them and find those points. I'm putting them on a third year practice schedule. That should clear up a few of the minor issues. They need practice with a real doubles pair to clear up their formation problems."

Sanada nodded in agreement. "They'll be a wild card during Kanto."

Yukimura smiled. Tennis season was finally starting to get a little interesting.

* * *

**A/N: Writing tennis still makes me nervous and I'm trying to ease into it even though there are no major tennis chapters for quite some time. Critique on the tennis portion would be great.**

**T/N: Oh I just love Oyama and Urayama so much, THEY ARE JUST SO CUTE. I found the Circus Pair thing so clever! :)**


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39.**

Oyama walked into his bedroom after his shower in his boxers with a towel around his neck. His knees were wrapped up in ace bandages, which made it hard to bend his knees to walk, but he managed. He glanced at the sliding glass door that led to the balcony outside of his bedroom and frowned. He could see Urayama standing at his balcony in his pajamas.

Their apartments were right next to each other, and both of their bedrooms had balconies which were fairly close. Over the years, the balconies became their little place where they could tell each other anything. Usually, if they wanted to talk, they would text each other one word: balcony.

Oyama grabbed his phone off his desk to see if Urayama had texted him. He didn't have any text messages.

The tall boy tossed the towel onto his bed and slipped a sweatshirt over his head. He opened the door and walked out onto the balcony, making sure to close the door behind him so his cat didn't come running out. He leaned against the railing and looked over at his doubles partner. "Shiita, what's up?"

"Nothing," Urayama replied. He stared out at the city, watching the sun set in the distance.

"Shiita. It's cold. I'm not playing this game right now."

Urayama sighed and looked at his partner. Urayma couldn't see Oyama's knees, but he knew they would be wrapped. "You didn't have to do that during the match the other day. You're hurt because of me."

"You're mad that I hurt myself, but not that I messed up your cheek?" Oyama sounded confused. Yes, Urayama's cheek was healed, but the short boy never once complained about it. Now he was suddenly upset about his knees?

"I don't care about my cheek. It wasn't even that bad," Urayama said. "You should have let me hit that shot. Your knees wouldn't be messed up if you would've just left me alone."

"I'm fine, Shiita," the tall boy promised. "I won't even have to wrap them up tomorrow. Just Band-Aids."

"It's my fault."

"Stop being a baby."

"I'm not a baby."

"Well, you're acting like one."

Urayama sighed and looked back out at the city. "I don't get you sometimes, Kenta. How can you be so calm? You got hurt. You're always getting hurt for me. I don't like it."

This is the Urayama that people didn't know existed – anxious and nervous and guilty. Oyama sighed and ran a hand through his still-wet hair. He didn't know how to deal with that Urayama. Sometimes, the pink haired boy who looked like a girl also acted like a girl as well. Oyama wasn't good with girls_ or_ boys who acted like girls.

"Shiita, can you please stop worrying?" Oyama asked. "My knees are fine. You're fine. We're going to keep playing tennis, and we're going to stand on the court during Nationals, just like we planned to. That shot would have broken your wrist. I think that'd be a pretty big problem."

"I just don't want anything to happen to you, okay?"

"You're social. You have other friends. You'll live if something happens to me."

"Yeah, well, they suck. They get mad when I say something stupid. You know that I can't help it sometimes. And you're the only one who sticks up for me when people call me a girl. They just keep walking like nothing's happening. They're not my friends. They laugh at me when I'm not around. I know they do. I hate it. I hate _them_."

Oyama let out a heavy sigh. "Shiita, you don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. We get so much crap because of how we look. I'm sick of it." Urayama gripped the top of the balcony railing, leaning over it. He took in a deep breath, smiling as he shouted, "You're just jealous because we're awesome!"

Oyama covered his mouth as he laughed. He heard someone in the apartments below yell at them to shut up, which only made him laugh harder. Urayama was laughing, too. They stayed like that for the longest time, tears forming in their eyes. It wasn't even remotely funny, but it seemed hilarious for some reason.

Once they got themselves together, Oyama asked, "Are you done being moody?"

"Give me a lollipop and I'll forgive you," the shorter boy said, choosing to answer his own question instead of Oyama's. "I like the cola ones."

Oyama rolled his eyes. Urayama chuckled.

.

The following morning, Oyama was watering the plants on the windowsill in his kitchen. That's when Urayama stumbled in through the front door in his school uniform with his bag, demanding food.

"Rice is in the cooker, soup is at the table, and everything else is already on the plates," Oyama said. "The pitcher has water. I'm out of tea, so don't even ask."

Urayama set is bag on the floor next to the table before getting a bowl of rice.

Their parents were busy people. Oyama's parents were both respected doctors, who were called in at the strangest hours. Urayama's father was a lawyer and his mother was the editor of a magazine, so they were home more often than Oyama's parents, but they went to work early and came home late.

Over the years, the two had fallen into a pattern of exchanges – Oyama cooked whenever their parents weren't home, Urayama did the laundry, Oyama watered the plants, Urayama cleaned, and so on and so forth. It was a little strange, but it worked.

Once Oyama had finished watering the plants, he sat down across from Urayama and poured himself a glass of water. "Did you take your pills?"

Urayama nodded. "Yuppers."

The short boy felt something rub against his leg. He smiled and reached under the table, pulling Oyama's cat onto his lap. It was a Russian Blue cat that Oyama had adopted when he was younger, before Urayama and he became friends. It took some time, but the cat eventually warmed up to Urayama. Her name was Sapphire.

"It's weird not having morning practice," Urayama mentioned. Sapphire curled up into a ball on Urayama's lap, letting out soft purrs as he petted her with his free hand.

"Marui-senpai said it was because Yukimura-buchou doesn't want the regulars to be sore for the tournament, and it's unfair to excuse them from practice but make everyone else work," Oyama said.

Urayama made a small noise in the back of his throat. "But I like practice now. We get to do serves and stuff instead of swing practices."

"And we have our practices with Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai," Oyama mentioned. "They're getting better at playing their new positions. Jackal-senpai still needs a move. We have a practice with them this afternoon. We should probably start looking at moves that suit his body."

"You could teach him the Elephant Smash. I mean, he knows how to do a Snake, right? Just teach him how to do the smash version."

"That's my move." The tall boy frowned at the thought of someone else doing his signature smash. Sapphire meowed. "See, Shiita, Sapphire wants me to keep my move, too."

Urayama looked down at the cat and scrunched up his nose. Oyama continued to eat his breakfast. Urayama continued to make faces at the cat.

.

The two pushed through the school day with the thought of afternoon practice on their minds. At the end of the day, the two walked through the school grounds, heading for the locker room. Yanagi was standing outside telling everyone to go up to the weight room after they had finished changing.

By the time the two first years had changed and gone up to the weight room, almost all of the machines were full – the bench presses, the power clean bars, the squat stations, everything. Even the treadmills and stationary bikes were full.

Urayama looked around, wondering what they should do. "Where should we go–"

"Ice-Cream-Head!"

The two turned and saw Niou at a bench press. Kirihara was lying on the bench, Yagyuu standing by his head, helping him pick up the bar. The two first years walked over to stand next to Niou.

"You guys are on a third year plan now, correct?" Yagyuu asked. "Yukimura briefly mentioned it to us the other day."

"Yup, we are," Urayama answered.

Kirihara nodded, and Yagyuu let go of the bar. It came flying down, slamming into the second year's chest. Kirihara's legs flailed, his eyes screwed shut. Yagyuu grabbed the bar, pulling it back up. Niou helped Kirihara and Yagyuu hook it back into place.

"And this is why I told you to follow the increments," Yagyuu said in a motherly-tone. "Start off low, and then work to your max."

Kirihara's face was red. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hate pyramids."

Yagyuu and Niou pulled the clips of the ends of the bars, removing some of the weight. "How are your knees?" Yagyuu asked, glancing at Oyama for the briefest of moments.

Urayama rubbed at the back of his neck. Oyama simply shrugged. "Alright. They'll be fine in a day or two."

Yagyuu nodded curtly. "That's good. I didn't mean to –"

"Hiroshi, stop apologizing," Niou said with his signature smirk. "Anyone who has the guts, or the stupidity, to try and hit your Laser doesn't deserve an apology. They deserve respect. Right, Ice-Cream-Head?"

Urayama smiled, unsure of what else to do.

"Too bad respect on this team means working yourself to death," Kirihara muttered. Niou and Yagyuu slid the clips back onto the bar, locking the weights into place. Kirihara grasped the bar and sighed. "If it falls on me again, just let me die."

"Will do, brat."

"Niou-kun..."

.

Weight training was brutal. After finding their maximums on several techniques, Yanagi gave them a training schedule to do for whenever they went to the weight room. Even Urayama seemed a little down when they saw the first years doing basic curls. Marui and Jackal had to cancel their afternoon practice with the first years, both saying their legs were on fire.

The two headed back to their apartments, getting long, hot baths to relax their muscles. Oyama headed over to Urayama's once he was done, dressed in street clothes, and shouted, "Shiita?"

"Still in the bathroom!" Urayama replied.

Oyama collapsed onto a sofa, his muscles aching. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, wondering how the regulars could work their bodies to this point. He wondered how anyone could work their bodies to this point. It felt like his muscles were torn off and reattached. He had forgotten how much of a jerk Yukimura was sometimes.

Urayama walked out of the bathroom, rubbing his hair with a towel. Oyama rolled his eyes. "Shiita, put on a shirt. You'll catch a cold."

Urayama picked up a leg and shook it, his baggy sweat pants flopping back and forth. "Good enough."

"I'm not taking care of you when you're sick."

"I'm not going to get sick. I have the immune system of a tiger. My white blood cells are ferocious," he said as he walked into the kitchen. He grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge, and then walked back to the room his partner was in. He tossed on bottle at Oyama and sat down sideways on the sofa, stretching out his legs. "So tired."

"I don't want to cook," Oyama said. "Are your parents coming home?"

"I think my mom's comin' home at midnight or something, but she has tomorrow off. Dad's working all night. Big case next week," Urayama said. It was almost unsettling how easily they could talk about their parents never being home. "Yours?"

"They have late shifts tonight," he answered. "Pizza for dinner? My parents left some money on the counter. I think they stopped by during lunch or something."

Urayama wiggled in his spot, trying to get more comfortable. "Pizza's fine. Wanna play a game or something first? I really don't want to do the homework..."

"Yeah."

As Urayama got up to set up his wii, Oyama remembered they had morning conditioning the next morning and groaned at the thought. His muscles were going to rebel and give up by the end of the year.

* * *

**A/N: First little snapshot of Urayama and Oyama outside of school and tennis. Most of their chapters will be tennis-related because that's all their plot is, but I wanted to do this one to add a little more to their characters.**


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40.**

Niou looked at himself in the mirror of his bathroom. He thought he was staring at a stranger for a moment. His hair was slicked back with an unbelievable amount of gel, and he wore a dark pinstriped suit with wrinkle free button down and a tie. He stuck a hand into his hair, pushing it back into spikes. Niou walked out of his bathroom, through his bedroom, and then continued down the hall.

It was the big day. The day he sat in on one of his father's meetings. He had to miss school, but he didn't care. Riko had showed up earlier with a briefcase, wearing something that a lawyer would. When Niou went down the stairs and entered the foyer, he spotted Kenji. His little brother was wearing a suit as well, but he opted to skip their tie. He was holding a folder and tapping his fingers against it nervously.

"Is Dad ready yet?" Niou asked.

"He forgot something in his office," Riko said. "Didn't you prepare _anything?_"

"I've been busy," Niou replied vaguely.

"You're going to pull something out of thin air, aren't you?" Riko sighed when Niou nodded. "Masaharu, this is important. We're going to be running this company one day. You need to start taking this seriously!"

"Oh, Riko, calm down."

The three turned. Their father was walking through an archway, a warm smile on his face. He had gray in his black hair and wrinkles on his face, but he didn't look old at all. He wasn't even that old.

"Dad, could you carry this in for me?" Kenji asked. He holed out the folder he had been fiddling with.

"Your proposal?" their father asked. Kenji nodded. Their father smiled and took it from him, popping open his briefcase to slip it in. "_Perfect!_ Ah, Riko, I see that you have yours ready."

"Did you print off my proposal and put it in the department heads' folders?" Riko asked eagerly. She was too excited about this. Despite her love for music, she liked business even more. Or maybe she liked the attention. Niou wasn't sure.

"Yes, I had someone put it in," their father said. He looked at Niou.

"I'm winging it," Niou said, answering the unasked question.

"Whatever works. Now, I believe the car is waiting outside. Better not keep them waiting."

.

They took a town car into the city. Riko was looking over her report, which she still refused to tell Niou about, no matter how many times he asked, while Kenji talked to their father about the National Junior Choir. Niou skimmed over the financial report he had found in his father's briefcase.

Niou Software, usually shortened to N-Ware, was one of the largest software companies in Japan. They created anything from medical equipment to computer chips. Their father took over the company from his father after graduating from Tokyo University. The company skyrocketed after their father took over. At least, that's what people said. The three of them hadn't been born yet.

The company's headquarters was in a large skyscraper. Their father's office was on the top floor, looking down over the city. The car they were in pulled in through security, taking them to a closed off entrance. Niou slipped his father's financial report back into his briefcase before they headed out of the car.

Niou never understood how these people knew who they were. As they walked through the futuristic looking building, people called him "Masaharu-san." The three of them had been in the building before, but they were part of something this time. They weren't just going to meet up with their dad for lunch. They were going to be a part of a meeting that would affect what the company did for the rest of the year.

Before they went into an elevator, a young woman and two young men came rushing up to them. They were his father's personal assistants, all three of which were getting high level degrees in business. Niou had met them before. He didn't remember their names.

"What have I forgotten this time?" their father asked.

"Ayumu-san, we've confirmed reservations for your family to dine at the Starlight Bistro after the meeting. You have a one hour grace period in case the meeting runs a bit late," the woman said. "Atobe-san called, he wishes to have lunch. Fujiwara-san wants to arrange a golf trip. Atobe-san called again, saying he can't do lunches for the next six months, but would love to do brunch. Your wife called as well to say that she will meet you all at the bistro after the meeting. She also wants to remind Kenji-kun not to be nervous."

Kenji's face turned tomato red.

"Also," one of the men began, "you need to sign the new shipment of wire that came in. In addition to that, you need to sign the other shipments that came in this morning that you said you would get when you arrived for the meeting."

"Is that all?" their father asked.

"Yes, Ayumu-san," the second man answered.

"You three need to stop doing your jobs. You're going to be the death of me." Their father sighed. "Put it on my desk. I'll do that later."

The three assistants bowed politely and then walked away, each pulling out a phone to answer calls or check appointments.

Their father led them to the elevator, pulling out a security card. He flashed it to the guard in front of the elevator before his children stepped in after him.

"Don't they know your face?" Kenji asked.

"Of course they do." He slipped the security card into his pocket. "I'd just feel like a gigantic three-letter-word if I were to make everyone else in the building use one when I didn't have to. Besides, I know some people who can do a pretty good imitation of me..."

He glanced at Niou, who had his Trickster smirk in place.

.

Niou wasn't sure what floor they were on, but he knew that they were high. They walked into a room that had a long table that could fit at least forty people. Old men and women in suits nodded to them. Several even stopped to introduce themselves or make small talk with their father.

Almost every single person in that room looked at Niou, Riko and Kenji with utter hatred. They had been expecting it, but it was still unsettling. These people had worked their whole lives to get to where they were, to sit at that table. The three of them were just lucky to be born with their father's name.

Their father sat at the end of the long table in front of a little remote. Kenji sat next to him on the side of the table, Niou joining his brother. Riko sat across from them.

Their father picked up the little remote and showed it to his children. "It has a laser pointer, controls the blinds, lights, and projector," he told them. He dropped his voice and said, "I point the laser at people's heads when I get bored. They generally stop the meeting when I do that."

More and more people filled the room. Each person was holding a thick folder that Niou assumed held everyone's reports. People came over to shake hands with them, saying it was wonderful to have ideas from younger people. When someone shut the door and sat in the last empty seat, the room grew quiet. Someone could have dropped a pin and you would have heard it drop – mind you, it'd have to be a heavy pin, but you would hear it.

"As all of you know, I invited my children to this meeting," their father said. His voice was firm, unwavering. "I know many of you are skeptical because they're young. Well, we need youth. We'll die. They'll live. The world is a very different place now. There's facebook, which I still don't understand, there's new trends, new wants, new drives. I think my children will be able to put a revolutionary spin on this company that will put us ahead of the game. If you have a problem with them, I suggest you leave now and don't come back."

Their father looked around the table. No one moved. No one was stupid enough to give up years of work simply because they didn't like their boss's kids.

"Good," their father said. He pressed a few buttons on his little remotes. Seconds later, blinds covered the windows, the room went dark, and a projector fell from the ceiling. "Now, let's get started."

Niou looked at his siblings as their father led the meeting. Riko seemed to follow it pretty well, though the numerical portion seemed to confuse her. Kenji didn't even pretend to understand; he read through the folder he had pulled out of their father's briefcase, shifting nervously in his chair. Niou understood it. He didn't know how, but he could follow what his father was saying, what the numbers meant.

Their father finished the presentation with the financial report. Niou stared at the numbers, forcing himself to remember what he had read on the trip to the company. They were different, but it made sense. His father probably had a more updated version.

Then the department heads started talking. Most went over the basics, saying the more detailed report could be found in the folders. Their father skimmed papers, listening and correcting things at other moments. It was business. Business he would have to do one day. It didn't scare him, but it made something settle in the pit of his stomach.

An hour and a half of talking later, their father pressed a button on his remote, the screen rolling back up into the ceiling. The curtains slowly opened, filling the room with light.

"Now that we've gone over the annual report," their father began, "I believe my children wanted to add some things. Kenji, do you want to go first?"

"S-sure." Kenji set the folder down on the table and sat up a little straighter. The department heads looked skeptical, like a thirteen year old boy couldn't possibly think of anything worth hearing. He was shaking, and Niou gently nudged him with his foot to calm him down. "Well, I couldn't really think of an idea that could benefit the company internally, but I did come up with an idea to help our external image."

Their father leaned forward and nodded, listening to his son's every word. "Go on."

Kenji nodded. "I-I was looking into the financial reports and I realized we only donate to two charities a year. One for breast cancer and one for AIDS. It got me thinking that we could easily donate our surplus to other charities. There are dozens of them – homeless aide, soldiers, animal conservation, stuff like that.

"When I looked into the surplus, I realized we create medical equipment that we never sell for one reason or another, and obviously there's the money we deduct from next year's budget. We're affiliated with medical companies that produce vaccines and antibodies. I would be easy to establish a charity that helps to build hospitals in poverty ridden areas. That's it, really..."

Kenji didn't say anything else, making his ending somewhat awkward. The department heads didn't seem to keen on the idea of the surplus being donated. They liked to splurge and buy luxuries for their departments with the extra money.

"That sounds like a fantastic idea!" their father practically shouted. Half the department heads did double takes. "There are a lot of diseases without cures that we can donate to."

"I like the hospital idea," one of the department heads said. Niou wasn't completely sure, but he was almost positive that she was the head of the publicity department. Kenji would probably work with that when the three of them took over the company.

"Great," their father said with a smile. "We'll add it onto the agenda for next month's report. Kenji, you'll need to do a little extra research to get specifics, but the basics are definitely good. Riko, do you want to share? You looked into the medical department, correct?"

"Yes, that's correct." Riko smiled and nodded. She was easily ten times more relaxed then her younger brother had been. "This is a more simplistic version of the actual proposal, which can be found in your folders. The basic idea is creating a diversified medical department."

And then she went off. If the department heads tried to follow her, they didn't show it. Her numbers went right over their heads. Even their father seemed a bit lost when Riko started going into cochlear implants and cranial nerves. The "basic" idea was to combine research from several different departments and combine it with the medical department to create sub departments. She even managed to work in something about her connections in the musical world, and how they could hold charities to raise money for the departments.

When Riko finished, she looked at her father. "At least, that's the basic idea."

"Basic?" Their father laughed. "Riko, I don't think you understand the meaning of the word!"

"I like it," Kenji admitted somewhat nervously. "Technology is supposed to help people. This could be a starting point to dozens of divisions."

Riko smiled proudly.

"While it is a wonderful and well thought out idea," the accountant began dryly, "we don't have the money for a new department. Charities are only going to make so much money. Departments take thousands of employees and sponsors and research. It's not as easy as snapping your fingers and wishing."

Riko's smile faded. If looks could kill, that accountant would be dead.

"Perhaps we could switch some numbers around?" their father asked. "I love the idea. I've always wanted to create a more diversified medical department. I believe we discussed this several years ago, but didn't have a way to diversify it. Now we do. I think it's worth it."

"We simply don't have the money," the accountant said. His voice dripped with false sympathy. "The budget is stretched as it is. Unless you're willing to cut other departments, it would be impossible..."

Before their father could say anything, Niou grabbed the little remote he had been using earlier. He pressed a button to pull back the curtains. A moment later, the screen dropped down and the presentation flashed on the screen.

"Masaharu, do you have an idea?" their father asked.

"Not so much an idea as a really bad realization," he muttered. "Dad, can I have your copy of the financial report for this year? Would the accountant give me his as well?"

"It would be respectful of you to learn my name," the accountant said. He opened up his brief case and pulled out a manila folder, sliding it across the table to Niou. His father handed him a folder as well.

"I'm not the respectful type," Niou said defiantly. He clicked a button on the remote, going back several slides. He stopped on a graph of numbers that his father had said was the financial report. He opened up the folders, skimming through the pages. His eyes darted from number to number, looking for something.

"Does he have an eidetic memory?" one of the department heads asked.

"No," his father answered, "he's just incredibly gifted with patterns and numbers."

Niou tapped his finger on his father's report, turning it so his father could see. He pointed to the same spot on the accountant's report. Niou picked up the remote and pressed a button so a laser came out the end. He pointed to a spot on the screen with it.

His father blinked several times, looking before the three sets of numbers. Eventually, his eyes settled on the accountant. "Could you tell me why all three of these reports have different estimates for your department's budget?"

"Excuse me?" the accountant said. He sounded calm, but Niou saw it. He licked his lips and his eyes darted to the screen for just a split second. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You're lying," Niou declared. "I thought it was strange when we were going over the budget earlier. I looked at my father's budget report, and I noticed the numbers were slightly higher than what was shown on the screen. I didn't think much of it – budgets are fluid, they change all the time, so I figured he had an updated version. But then you said you didn't have the money for a new department."

"What does this have to do with anything?" the accountant asked. "This sounds like teenage gibberish."

"There's usually a leftover sum of money that can be added to a department at any time. This money isn't included in the budget. That sum was to create a safety net in case something was to happen. You're saying that there's no money. Where did that extra money go exactly?"

"That's not a widely known fact that our company does that," the accountant said. "We applied that method six years ago. How in the world do you know that if the money wasn't in the budget?"

"He's the one who came up with the idea," their father said firmly. He looked at his son. "Masaharu, get to the point."

Niou looked at the accountant with a cold gaze. "Your department's budget on my father's report is significantly higher than what is shown on the screen. All of the other departments budgets only varied by several million yen. On my father's report, it's about fifty million yen higher. A little high, but nothing worth looking at. On _your _report, your department has around a hundred-fifty million yen more than what's stated on my father's report. Where, if you don't mind my asking, did you get that money from? Did you pull it out of thin air? It obviously wasn't taken from the other departments' funds. Did you take it from the emergency sum?"

"Niou-san," the accountant said in a calm, collective voice as he looked at their father, "I have no idea what your son is talking about. It's obviously a typo of some sort. A few extra zeros added onto my report."

"A few zeros and a one?" their father questioned. "That seems very unlikely. You're the one who typed your report, correct?"

"We all have our off days," the accountant said with a hearty laugh. No one joined him.

"_You're lying_," Niou repeated. "Your voice is shaking. You're playing with the cuff of your shirt. You're not making eye contact. You've also licked your lips seven times since I said something. You know, licking your lips makes them drier. Though, they don't seem dry at all. Nervous twitch?"

The accountant's nostrils flared. "This is nonsense. It's obviously a typo. Why in the world would I be smuggling money?"

"No one said anything about smuggling money," their father said. The accountant was sweating. "Riko, Masaharu, Kenji, go to my office. This will only take a second."

The three gathered their things and left. When the door closed behind them, they heard their father yell. Niou had a feeling he was the number one enemy of a lot of people. He couldn't bring himself to care.

.

Their father's office was mesmerizing. Riko and Kenji were staring down at the city through a huge window that ran the length of the room. Niou sat on the sofa, pulling out his phone to text Yagyuu to see how tennis practice was. He was curious to see how those first years were doing with the third year regiment.

Their father came into the office an hour later, running a hand through his graying hair. "Masaharu, could you have at least given me time to find a replacement accountant before you forced me to fire my old one?"

"Sorry?" Niou offered, not the least bit sorry.

Their father walked over to the sofa and patted Niou on the shoulder. "Good job. I didn't catch that and he's been doing it for years. I always thought that trusting people was a good thing. Oh, such as life. Looks like my assistants have another thing to add to my agenda."

"Dad, we don't need to go to dinner," Riko said. There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "I mean, you're busy and all. We understand. You have a lot to do..."

"Riko, you're brilliant, yet you still manage to say the dumbest things ever," their father said. "We're going to dinner. I want lobster. Does the bistro have lobster? I hope they do."

The three kids smiled.

* * *

**A/N: Wild Niou's-father appeared! –insert Pokémon music here–**

**Also, happy belated Halloween to everyone :)  
**


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41.**

Yukimura sat down next to his sister at the kitchen table for breakfast. Emiko was working on her English homework while their father cooked at the stove. Yukimura tilted his head, turning his sister's paper slightly. It was riddled with errors, some of which were highlighted.

"Emiko, do you need a tutor?" Yukimura asked, slightly worried that his sister was going to fail. "English is one of my better subjects, if you need help."

"I didn't write this," she said. "We're supposed to mark the errors."

Yukimura let out a sigh of relief.

Emiko rolled her eyes, thinking of a snarky response, something about not being stupid. Her father set a plate in front of her before she could say anything. "Emiko, I don't know what you were going to say, but I don't want to hear it."

"Dad, can I have the morning paper?" Yukimura asked.

Their father turned and grabbed the paper off the counter, tossing it towards his son. Yukimura caught it just before it hit Emiko's plate. He turned it so he was looking at the front page and raised his eyebrows slightly – it read: _N-Ware Meeting Goes Haywire. _He skimmed the article, an amused smile filling his lips as he read about Niou Ayumu's unnamed son, who performed a "mathematical miracle" by calling out the accountant for smuggling.

"Don't you have a friend named Niou who's fairly wealthy?" their father asked as he set a plate in front of his son. "Are they related?"

"Yes, but he doesn't like people to know," Yukimura said. He looked up at his father. "If you don't mind..."

"My lips are sealed." He pulled his fingers across his lips. Apparently, they weren't because two seconds later, he said, "You should stop by the store with Genchirou-kun and Renji-kun."

"We have practice after school, but we'll swing by later, okay?"

Their father nodded and sat down. He sighed, and then stood up. "I forgot my food."

Emiko shook her head. Yukimura grinned.

.

Yukimura stared at the tennis courts during afternoon practice. Sanada stood next to him, blinking rapidly, as though it would change what he was seeing. Yanagi sighed and said that he would go find Niou.

Tennis balls were everywhere. Several were glued to the ground, others to the trees. Yukimura saw one that was glued under a bench. However, the most interesting area of all was the first tennis court. The Roman numeral for two had been written out in tennis balls.

"Strike two of Prank War IV?" Yukimura walked over to the nearest ball and knelt down next to it. He tried to pull it up, but it was glued down like a root in the dirt. He stood up and looked at Sanada. "This is your fault."

"All I did was make him buy new balls," Sanada said, crossing his arms defensively. "That was a month ago. This is ridiculous. It's no longer my fault."

"This is worse than the lizards," the captain muttered. "When in the world did he have time to do this? He didn't stay late this morning..."

"We have two days until the tournament," Sanada growled. "If this school didn't have a rule against corporal punishment in clubs, I swear –"

"You're not slapping anyone," Yukimura said firmly. "I asked for that rule to be put in place so you couldn't scare people into being our comrades. I don't want a team based on fear, Genchirou."

"You should have asked for a clause that allowed me to slap Niou Masaharu when he decided to screw us all over," Sanada replied bitterly. "We can't practice like this. There are balls where we run, and they're not moving because _they're glued to the ground_. First, he skips practice to go to a family meeting. Now, he does this, and we have to –"

"_Genchirou._ Stop being a baby and go help Renji find Niou. He probably has a solvent to remove the balls." Despite the situation, Yukimura somehow managed to smile. "This whole situation is rather amusing, don't you think?"

Sanada turned and walked away, half expecting Yukimura to follow him. The other half of him was expecting for Yukimura to go sit on his hill, like he was above everyone and everything. Needless to say, Sanada wasn't extremely surprised when Yukimura chose the latter of the two. If Yanagi was with him, he would say that Yukimura is just that kind of a person. Sanada knew what kind of a person Yukimura was. He was selfish and cruel and pushed people he was close to away.

Sanada began by checking Niou's usual hiding places. Niou would hide after his pranks, but only for fun. Sanada doubted that "running away" was in Niou's vocabulary. Niou had a weird sense of pride. He made his pranks so obvious, yet acted like they weren't a big deal. Niou took pride in that, in being able to pull off the prank, even if it didn't go as planned. As long as it was done, Niou was proud. Sanada never understood that. It was like settling for second place in life. Sanada only took pride in something if it was done right and was done perfectly.

Sanada walked towards a cluster of trees. Niou was sitting with his back to the tree, his head tilted down and his eyes closed as though he were asleep. Sanada walked over, his footsteps enough to wake Niou up out of his little daze. Whether he was really asleep or not, Sanada didn't care.

"Where's the solvent to remove the glue?" Sanada asked.

Niou stood up, stretching his arms above his head. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Niou, tell me, or you're running for the rest of the year," Sanada threatened.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I found this," Niou said as he pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket. He handed it to Sanada with a smirk. "I think it might be the solvent that can remove the glue. Or maybe someone's just screwing with you."

"Twenty laps," Sanada said, snatching the paper out of his hands.

"Yukimura bossing you around again?" Niou asked. His voice was flat, his eyes impartial. His poker face was flawless. Sanada couldn't tell if he honestly cared, if he just wanted to rile Sanada into a fit of uncontrollable range, or if he didn't give a damn. "He treats you like crap. I don't get why you're friends with him."

"Fifty laps."

Niou thought about saying something else, but decided he wanted to be able to walk tomorrow. So he jogged off, looking at the ground to avoid the tennis balls.

Sanada unfolded the paper. He clenched his jaw as he read it – _"Just use water."_ Sanada crumpled the paper and tossed it to nowhere in particular, not caring that he was littering. Even Niou realized that Yukimura was bossy. Why couldn't anyone else? Maybe they all realized it. Maybe they just didn't care.

.

Sanada and Yanagi supervised practice, which started after they finally got all of the balls removed. Sanada was just glad that practice was over. He wanted to go home and work out his frustration by slicing straw men in half.

"Genchirou, Renji and I are going to X-treme to study. Do you want to come?" Yukimura asked as they changed to go home. When the vice-captain didn't answer, Yukimura took a step away from his locker, looking over at Sanada. "Genchirou?"

"I heard you," Sanada said. "I was planning on going home and doing some stuff at the dojo. Maybe meditate by the pond."

"We could come with you and help out," Yukimura offered. He reached into his locker, pulling out his school uniform's top. "It's up to you."

"I was planning on going home and doing some stuff at the dojo _alone_."

Yukimura slipped his arms through his shirt, fingers working on the buttons. "Oh. That's fine, too. Maybe next time?"

Sanada slung his bag over his shoulder and closed his locker. He nodded once. "Next time."

Yukimura finished buttoning his shirt, only to realize he was one hole off. He swore under his breath, pulling all the buttons out of the holes. His fingers slipped on a few and he let out a loud groan. "I hate this shirt."

Yanagi gave Yukimura a sideways glance. "Seiichi, are you alright?"

"My shirt," Yukimura mumbled. He pulled at the button so hard that it came off. He tossed his head back and closed his eyes. He set his head upright, pulling his shirt over his head. "I'm getting a shower."

"You hardly practiced," Yanagi pointed out.

"I need a shower."

Yukimura tugged his pants down and grabbed a towel out of a cart, walking into regulars' shower room. Yanagi closed his locker and went into Yukimura's office with a strange weight on his shoulders. It was heavy, like he was supposed to know something, to notice something, to help. He didn't know what he was supposed to notice.

Maybe it was just that he didn't want to notice it.

.

The two headed to X-treme after Yukimura finished his shower. Yukimura's father was working at the register and Emiko was loading boxes out of storage to restock the shelves. The two boys headed into the back room, flopping onto the sofa.

"Do you want to play a game?" Yukimura asked. Yanagi opened his mouth to answer, but the captain sighed and continued. "That's right; you're terrible at video games. I suppose we could study. I have an English test tomorrow."

"That seems logical."

The two spread out, Yanagi opening several textbooks on the sofa, Yukimura moving to the floor. The two didn't talk unless they had a question, which wasn't often. Yanagi was known for being incredibly intelligent, but Yukimura wasn't exactly stupid either.

Yukimura rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. "I can't stare at my books anymore."

"I find it amusing that you love reading, but refuse to read textbooks," Yanagi mentioned. "Curiosity isn't a bad thing."

"Curiosity is a bad thing. It killed the cat."

Yanagi sighed. "I don't understand how you can't be curious. Don't you want to know as much as you can?"

"I don't think we're meant to know everything. There are things about ourselves that we don't even realize until someone else points them out." Yukimura sat up, ruffling his hair so it wasn't in his eyes. "I like not knowing more than knowing, I suppose. If I knew everything about Koga-chan, there'd hardly be anything for us to talk about."

"That makes sense," Yanagi reasoned. "I'm the opposite. I like knowing."

"Nerd," Yukimura teased.

Yanagi picked up a folder, tossing it at Yukimura. "I'm not a nerd."

Yukimura stared at his friend. "Don't throw things at me."

"Don't call me a nerd."

"Deal."

Yanagi sighed. Yukimura was smiling.

* * *

**A/N: Being a girl and writing with a guy's mentality is hard. Because half the time I want them to get all touchy feely, then I remember my guy friends and cringe at the thought of them having a heart-to-heart. **


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42.**

Suzuki kept telling herself that they had more time, that they still had another day. When she woke up and realized that she didn't have another day, that it was now or never, she felt a rock settle in the pit of her stomach. It was the day of the Prefectural Tournament. The other sports teams weren't worried – they went to Nationals every year. Softball was always the underdog at the school. And all of her work as a captain was on the line.

After changing into her school uniform, she headed downstairs to the kitchen. She packed the bento her mother had made into her bag. She went ahead and packed the note wishing her luck as well. She was too nervous to eat, but she knew she had to. She picked at a plate of random things she found in the fridge before getting up and leaving.

It only took her five minutes to get to Marui's house. He texted her saying that since the tennis team also had tournaments today that he was going to skip his morning jog. She grabbed a pebble and tossed it at his window. The first one missed. The second one hit. When she saw his head poke out, she walked into the house.

She sat at the kitchen table and pulled out her phone. She had dozens of texts from girls on the softball team and guys on the baseball team saying it was game day. She looked for a text from Ito. She didn't find one.

"Ready?" Marui asked as he walked into the room. "Today's the big day."

"I'd be an idiot if I didn't know that," she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Marui sat next to her, grabbing a few items out of the fruit basket. He began to peel a banana. When she didn't answer, he asked it again, "Akira, what's wrong? Why aren't you pumped up?"

"I'm nervous," she said. Saying it out loud made her mouth dry up, like someone had put cotton in it. "What if we lose? I want to go to Kanto, to Nationals. But we have to get through today, through the rest of the tournament. We could lose it all right here."

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Marui said with ease. "The baseball team will be there to cheer you guys on. Besides, you guys are good. I've seen you pitch, Akira, and you're amazing. Calm down. Deep breaths."

Suzuki wasn't a deep breath kind of person. She did it anyways. It didn't help. If anything, it made her want to puke.

"Can we just go?" she asked. "I want to get to school early and hang out with the girls before the buses come."

Marui nodded and shoved a few more pieces of fruit into his bag. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before they headed out.

.

When they got to school, Marui told Suzuki to update him on her games. Suzuki told him to do the same. They headed their separate ways. The buses would be there in two hours. When Suzuki got to the girls' locker room, her team was inside, talking and laughing. Some of them had put yellow and black ribbons in their hair, others had painted their nails.

Suzuki set her things in her locker, staring at the uniform that was hanging inside. Would this be the last chance she got to wear it?

"Buchou!"

Suzuki turned to see who had called for her. A girl holding a box walked over, a huge smile on her face.

"Look what we found." The girl held the box up, allowing Suzuki to look inside. "Eye blacks – yellow and black. The baseball team sent them over."

"Who on the baseball team?" Suzuki asked.

The girl shrugged. "Ito?"

Suzuki nodded. "Well put them on before our games. We can do it on the bus."

The girl smiled. "Oh, and we're making a sign for the baseball team. Etsuko-fukubuchou is drawing it. It looks amazing!"

Suzuki followed the girl to the back of the locker room. Every single one of her starters was sitting on the floor in front of a huge strip of paper. When Suzuki got a closer look, she realized the paper was attached to wood so it wouldn't blow in the wind. Etsuko had painted huge yellow jackets – the wasps – and written the name of every baseball starter.

"Etsuko, that's _awesome_," Suzuki said. She knelt down, reading the sign.

"Bando said that Ito's doing the same for us," Etsuko told her captain as she continued to write out names from a list. "I don't think any of them are good at art, so it might just be kinda lame. But whatever. It's still cool that they're doing one."

Suzuki picked up a paint brush, writing _RIKKAIDAI _at the top.

.

The girls changed half an hour before the buses were supposed to come. Their uniforms were the opposite of the guys' tennis uniforms – black was the main color with yellow, red, and white accents. Someone had brought sunglasses and handed them out to everyone else. A few girls brought hats, putting them on wrong and pretending to be gangsters. They walked out of the locker room, laughing their heads off when one girl dropped her shorts and paraded around in her red spandex.

The baseball team, which was sitting under a nearby tree, stared at them. Ito walked over, smiling at Suzuki. "What are you, the Gangster Bees?"

"What else did you expect?" Suzuki tipped her sunglasses down to the end of her nose, and then winked. Ito did the last thing she expected him to do, he blushed. She could feel her own cheeks heating up, too. She pushed her glasses back up.

The two teams broke out into song. "Suzuki and Ito sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S –"

"_Shut up!"_ Suzuki roared.

Ito just laughed, his cheeks slowly returning to normal.

Then two boys walked up besides Ito, holding their sign backwards. Etsuko and another girl walked up, doing the same with theirs, nudging Suzuki and wiggling their eyebrows.

"I propose a deal!" Etsuko announced. "Whoever has the best sign, wins. The captain of the losing team must kiss the captain of the winning team!"

The boys broke out into cat whistles and claps, the girls laughing and cheering.

"No," Suzuki said immediately. "Not doing that."

"Why not, Toots? I gave you a pillow on Valentine's Day and everything. You should want to kiss me."

"In your dreams."

Ito grinned.

Etsuko looked between the two. "Forget what I said about the kiss. Let's just show the posters. If anyone says 'ladies first,' you're going to get shot."

The boys went "_ohhh_" and laughed. The two guys holding the sign turned it around with some difficulty – they were big signs.

If the girls thought their poster was good, the guys' poster was out of the world. Someone had taken a picture of every single starter on the softball team in action – Suzuki pitching, people sliding, some batting, others catching – and arranged them into a giant collage on the left and right sides. In the center was _GO, GO, RIKKAIDAI_ in bright red.

Ito grinned. "Epic, right?"

Suzuki nodded. "Freak yeah. Etsuko, show them ours."

When Etsuko turned it around, the boys didn't laugh or make any comments. They just stared. Eventually, one of the boys said, "That's badass."

"Ito, kiss her!" one of the boys shouted. "They win! Smooch time!"

Ito could have sworn he saw Suzuki smile before he turned to his team and yelled, "Shut it!"

.

The teams hung out and laughed together as they waited for the buses to arrive. A few people were playing truth or dare, others playing cards, or a quick game of catch to calm their nerves. Suzuki and Ito sat with their backs against a fence, the silence comforting them. Suzuki knew he wouldn't admit it, but he was nervous, too. It was the curse of being a captain. Everything fell on their shoulders.

When the buses arrived, the starters from both teams piled into the same bus. Everyone else filled the other buses. Etsuko sat next to Suzuki in the back. Ito sat in the seat besides the girls' next to his vice-captain, Bando. Everyone was helping each other put eye blacks on their faces. There were some who used yellow and black on both cheeks, and others who put it on their chins and foreheads like a tribal marking. Suzuki stuck with plain black.

The bus ride didn't take long, and soon they were standing in front of a huge park with several baseball/softball fields. Other teams showed up, doing double takes when they saw the warrior-like Rikkaidai teams.

"We should make a meeting place," Bando said. "Just in case."

The team began to walk around, Suzuki lagging in the back. Eventually, she fell far enough behind that no one noticed she had taken a different turn. She headed for the fields, staring down at her feet as she walked onto the grass. There were a few sports reporters there, taking shots of the empty fields. She continued walking anyways, stopping on the pitcher's mound.

She could hear the crowd roaring in her mind, feel the sweat in her palm as she rolled a ball, see her catcher making hand signs to tell her what to pitch. It was going to happen in a few hours. It was the start or the end.

"Toots?" Suzuki looked over and saw Ito rushing towards her. When he stopped next to her, she saw just how confused he was. "Why'd you ditch? People thought you'd gotten sick or something girly like that."

"I don't want to play," she said. "If we play, we can lose. I don't want to lose."

"Then don't lose," he said. "Win. You can do it. The guys on my team won't admit it, but half of them wish girls could play baseball. You've got a good team, Toots."

"Don't call me Toots," she muttered. "I start thinking about the pillow you gave me on Valentine's Day, and then I get confused because I don't know what that means. Then I remember playing truth or dare on the bus back in junior high, and how you said you wouldn't kiss me because I'm a flat chested freak. And then I get really freaked out and self-conscious and that is _not _what I need right now."

Ito stared at her for a moment, not sure what to say. He didn't know what possessed him to do so, but he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. The top of her head barely reached his shoulders. He felt like he was hugging a kid. A very warm, very familiar, very cute kid.

"Akira, calm down," he whispered. It took her a moment to slip her arms around him, linking her hands behind him, returning his hug. "You're starting to make me nervous."

She knew she was making him nervous – his heart was pounding against his chest so hard she could hear it. She took in a deep breath, her face pressed against his uniform. It smelled like detergent.

"It's just softball," she said. "Why do I care so much?"

"The same reason I care about baseball. We love it. That feeling you get when you walk onto the pitcher's mound, rolling that ball in your hand... There are only a few things that can compare to that. First tongue kiss is probably one of those feelings. So's getting two fortunes in one fortune cookie."

Suzuki laughed into his chest. "It's like going to Sweet Treats and actually being able to drink your smoothie because the fruit junks aren't in the way."

"Yes," he agreed. "It's like flipping over your pillow and its ice cold, ready for a good night of snuggling and snoring. It's like getting two yellow starbursts."

"I like getting two pink."

He huffed. "You would."

"No, _you_ would. No one likes yellow starbursts. I can't even look at you anymore." She pulled away from his embrace – or whatever that was – and smiled up at him. "Thanks, I guess."

Ito grinned. "No problem, Toots. Anytime you want a hug or a kiss, just ask me. I'll be glad to help."

"You ass. You're just –" She stopped and just sighed. He was impossible. He was downright insane. He was Ito. "Come on; let's get back to our teams before they kill each other."

They began to walk, continuing to list things that were comparable to being on the mound, ready to make the pitch of a lifetime. She felt at ease, like it didn't matter about winning or losing. She would have fun playing, and wasn't that the point?

After awhile, Ito's hand bumped into hers. He looked down, said, "Well, look at that," and grabbed her hand.

"Don't push it," she said, looking up at him. He had that smile. The one that made her feel stupid. The one that made the butterflies flutter away. The one that made her smile back.

She didn't take her hand away until they got back to where their teammates were.

.

Other teams needed to change, but they didn't, so they headed to the field early. The first game would be the Rikkaidai baseball team versus some school that no one knew how to pronounce. After the baseball teams played, the softball teams would.

The softball team got front row seats, their sign standing proudly. The boys showed their enthusiasm from the dugout, creating so much noise that the umpire had to come and tell them to be quiet.

And then the teams were walking onto the field, and Ito was talking with the other captain, shaking hands and pretending they didn't want to shove their bats up certain orifices. When the game started, Suzuki was in a trance. Ito's team was good. Really good. Sure, they practiced with them, but the difference between male and female physique was obvious. The guys kicked ass. There was no other way to describe that game, and it wasn't even a National level game.

Ito pumped his fist into the air as he pitched the last strike of the game. He started to do a little victory dance, but was quickly pounced by the other members of his team, who knocked him to the ground.

There was a short break between the softball and baseball games. The girls headed down to the dugout anyways, congratulating the guys.

"We still have three more games until we can relax," Bando said.

Ito nodded as he wiped at his face. "Yeah. But we'll win. The Rikkaidai baseball and softball teams can stand up on the stage together when we get our trophies for first place."

Suzuki grinned. "Hell yeah we will."

Slowly, the boys gathered their things and headed out until only the girls remained. An umpire came down, telling them they had to be on the field in two minutes.

Reality struck again. Ito wasn't there to calm her down. She was on her own. Then she remembered that she didn't need Ito, or Marui, or anyone else. She was her own person. Screw them. Screw the world.

Suzuki stood up, standing at the edge of the dugout. She looked at her team. The girls sat along the benches, tossing balls up into the air, playing with their gloves, doing anything to distract them. Some were nervous, others utterly terrified.

"Listen up!" Her voice got everyone's attention. "I'm supposed to give a pep talk. Something about how it doesn't matter if we win or lose. Guess what? I want to win. I'm supposed to say something about how we're supposed to become a team to win. Guess what? I'm crass and loud and dirty as hell. If you can't accept that then screw you because I'm not changing. I am who I am. And I'm going to beat them as me, whether you're with me or not.

"If you want to come along and call yourself my team, feel free to do so. But know that I want to win. Know that I want to prove to them that this short, little girl is bigger than that. Know that I want to kick ass with you girls behind me. Know that I want to have fun. Know that we will win.

"Now, who's with me?"

The girls cheered, rushing out onto the field. Suzuki followed behind them, letting out a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she saw the baseball team's sign and heard the cheering.

.

They crushed their opponents. Only one of them was able to hit Suzuki's pitch. Etsuko and everyone else were hitting balls left and right, scoring them point after point. Even when Suzuki was replaced as pitcher because her arm was tired, they caught almost all of the balls or got their opponent out before they could reach the first base.

The teams traveled to another field for their second game. The boys dominated, just like before. But so did the girls. They were unstoppable. They were winning. If they won their next game, they would be in the finals, which meant they were going to Kanto Regionals, which meant they had a shot at Nationals.

The teams were hyped up during lunch. They set up several picnic blankets on a grassy area, connecting them all. People spread out, eating and laughing. Someone had found enormous containers that were supposed to be filled with water and had yet to be filled. Bando and a couple other guys on the baseball team went around collecting money to fill them up with Gatorade.

Suzuki snuck off, dialing Marui's number onto her phone. He picked up a minute later. "Hey, Akira, how's it going? We're eating lunch. Totally crushed the first two teams. No one's lost a point yet. People are scared to look at us. Niou's jumping out of bushes when people walk by just for the heck of it. Akaya literally made someone run away when he asked where the vending machine was."

"That's interesting. And we're going into the semifinals," Suzuki said. She had to keep herself from screaming. "It's freaking awesome. I'm giving kick ass pep talks. Like, I didn't know I could give pep talks. Apparently they're good, too."

"That's great. Listen, I gotta go warm up with Jackal. Text me if something big happens."

"Same with you."

She hung up, heading back to their little picnic and sitting next to Etsuko. Ito smiled at her from another blanket. Suzuki smiled back. She was too happy to do anything but laugh when he said, "Toots, I got two yellow starbursts!"

.

The team they went up against next in the semifinals was a little tougher. The baseball team had a few problems, lost a few points, but they got them back and won. The team screamed and cheered, running over to where the softball team was.

They jumped into the stands, laughing and hugging the girls, singing songs and having the time of their lives. They switched out the baseball sign with the softball sign. Some guys on the baseball team began to chant nonsense as the girls walked onto the field and over to the dugout. If Suzuki didn't know the pure joy of winning a game, she would have thought they were on something illegal.

When the umpire told the girls they only had a minute to get onto the field, Suzuki turned to her girls. "Keep it up," she said with a huge grin. "If we win this, we're going to Regionals. Now let's kick some ass."

The girls whooped and hollered.

.

They won by one point. No one on the team was happy about that. Even though the baseball team clapped and congratulated them, they knew it wasn't a big deal. One point. If the other team had gotten that one point, their dream of going to Regionals would have been shattered. When did one point become so threatening?

Both teams went to watch the other semifinal matches, scouting out the competition. The baseball team didn't seem too impressed – why should they be? Ito was one of the top five pitchers in the high school league and Bando had one of the best hit-records.

The girls weren't as calm. The team that won had completely dominated their opponent. Those girls were going to try and crush them.

The two Rikkaidai teams walked to the field where the finals would be held. Reporters clicked cameras as both teams walked into the dugouts. They completely wiped off their eye blacks, replacing them with new ones. Suzuki smiled and pressed one vertically onto Ito's chin. When the guys were finished, they did the same to the girls. They looked like warriors.

"Two minutes," the umpire said. "Girls, get out."

Everyone nodded as the man rushed away. The girls faded out, wishing them luck. Suzuki nodded at Ito, her lips pressed together, and then followed her team.

.

Ito and his team struggled, but they changed the flow of the game and took the win. Right after they won, Bando and a few other guys disappeared. As Suzuki sat in the dugout, staring at the field, she spotted the boys carrying the huge containers they had found at lunch. They looked heavier, like they were filled with Gatorade. Or rocks.

Suzuki stood in front of her team, trying to think of another pep talk. She was running out of words to say. The only thing that came to her mind was insane. But she said it anyways.

"Screw it. Let's win."

And it was her best pep talk of the day because they did win. The team was panting and swearing and disgustingly sweaty, but they had won. They were going to Regionals as a threat, as the come from behind team.

Bando and the rest of the baseball team drowned them in Gatorade. Suzuki tackled Ito to the ground, getting him just as wet as she was. She just smiled and shouted, "We won!" in his face. Bando and Etsuko poured another container of Gatorade on them, and the two captains laughed as they stumbled back to their feet.

Winning and having people acknowledge it was better than standing on the mound. Hell, it was better than getting _three_ fortunes in a fortune cookie.

.

They got straight on the buses after the award ceremony. They had all agreed to go out and get sushi to celebrate once they changed. They parade through the school grounds, holding up their medals and trophies and signs, screaming at the top of their lungs. They were at the top of the world.

Marui was waiting outside of the girls' locker room. He had already changed, and Suzuki saw a medal hanging out of his bag.

"We won!" she shouted. She sprinted and hugged him, grinning from ear to ear. "What about you guys?"

"Why are you wet and sticky?" Marui asked as she pulled away. "And why do you smell like red Gatorade?"

"I'll tell you later. We're going to get sushi so I need to hurry and change. Did you guys win?"

"Yeah, Akira, we won. What else did you expect? We're awesome. No one dropped a single game. I gotta go, too. Congrats. Totally buying you a peach smoothie next time we're out. Maybe a fruit salad."

"This day could not get any better. But it's a fruit bowl, Bunta."

Marui laughed and jogged off to meet the rest of the tennis team, shouting, "Salad!" over his shoulder at him. Suzuki entered the locker room. She was showered with confetti and laughter.

* * *

**A/N: I generally dislike OC-focused chapters because the canon characters are the stars, but I missed Suzuki and I felt the need to continue her plot with Ito (even if the outcome is insanely obvious). They're the cliche best friend couple out of the pairings.  
**

**Also, I ended up sending in my zombie essay. Not only did I get accepted, I got a big scholarship that pays about half the tuition, and I got a note from the admissions office saying they love how I classified the brains. Go me. **

**T/N: This chapter was great! It really helped characterize Suzuki and show that Ito isn't a douche all the time hahaha.**


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43.**

Niou was sitting in homeroom, staring aimlessly at the blackboard. The people around him congratulated him on the tournament. He nodded and acted polite, flirting for a moment if the girl was cute. The tournament wasn't a big deal. Tennis teams in their area weren't all that competitive. The first tournament that mattered was Kanto Regionals.

"I'm going to kill Bando! And Etsuko! And Gatorade!"

Niou turned his head at Suzuki's shout. She came storming into the room, holding a special edition of a sports magazine. Marui was next to her, laughing and saying, "That's why you smelled like Gatorade?"

Suzuki sat at her desk and slammed the magazine down. Niou grabbed it off of her desk, drowning out Suzuki and Marui's conversation. The magazine was a lot like Pro Tennis Monthly, but it was focused on baseball and softball. When Niou spotted the word 'Rikkaidai' at the top of the page, he raised an eyebrow.

The article was about the softball and baseball teams, and how they won the Prefectural Tournament. The article was poorly written and completely biased, but Niou figured that wasn't the reason she was so mad. He was sure it was the picture of Etsuko and Bando dumping a container of Gatorade on her after she had tackled Ito to the ground. The caption was –

Suzuki tore the magazine away from him. "Shut up. I've gotten enough crap from everyone at morning practice."

"Hey, I was looking at that. What's the caption say?"

"Like hell I'm telling you."

"It says something about them being in love," Marui said. Suzuki turned and whacked him with the magazine. He kept talking, holding a book up for protection as she tried to hit him again. "It's freaking hilarious."

"It's not funny!" Suzuki shouted. Her face was red. She groaned and set the magazine back on her desk. She folded her arms over it, using them as a pillow. "I hate you both."

"Oh, come on, Akira. I'm teasing, and Niou's an ass to everyone," Marui said. He poked her back. "Do you have practice this afternoon?"

"No. I'm going out with Etsuko," she said. She lifted her head and looked at him. "You guys have practice?"

"Easy practice," Marui said. "We just do whatever. There's usually a round robin tournament or something. Jackal brought water guns."

"Seriously?"

"He's serious," Niou said. "They do it every year. Ever since junior high."

"Vaguely remembering this, but I don't think I care enough to find a full memory," she admitted. "So, you guys won. Yes, I am obviously changing the subject."

Marui nodded. "Yup. We kicked ass."

"Did you use the Suzuki Formation?"

"Suzuki Formation?" Niou looked at Marui. "You're doing a new formation? Is that why you and Jackal practiced in the weight room for a month?"

"I have no idea what she's talking," Marui lied. He gave her a look, and she understood. Marui didn't want anyone knowing about it. She would ask him why later.

The teacher walked in before Niou could ask any more questions.

.

The day went by quickly, what with Marui teasing Suzuki, who was dishing out a completely new platter of insults that made Niou proud. Suzuki left the boys to go met up with Etsuko; they were having a girls day out. By the time Marui got to the tennis courts, Jackal was filling up squirt guns with water.

"Jaaackaaal!" Marui shouted. The boy looked up, grinning. Marui tossed his fists into the air.

"You know, I think the only reason you like winning is to start a squirt gun battle," Niou commented.

"The reason I like winning is because I get to have an epic war. We have ten guns this year. It's gonna rock."

Niou rolled his eyes as they walked into the locker room. As they were walking in, Kirihara was walking out. The second year ace wondered over to the courts. A few of the early changers were playing games. Kirihara walked towards the bleachers and sat down.

He tilted his head back and stared up at the sky, letting out a content sigh. It was strange, being so near a court and not playing. It'd been awhile since he took time to enjoy the sound of a ball flying through the air.

"We've been lookin' for you."

Kirihara moved his head down and opened his eyes. Two third years had walked over. Kirihara didn't know their names, but he recognized them. They hung out with Hayashi. They were two club jumpers who didn't do anything, even if Hayashi told them to. At least Hayashi practiced, Kirihara thought bitterly.

"What do you want? I don't want to play today," Kirihara told them. Somehow, he knew that wasn't what they wanted.

One boy sat on Kirihara's left and the other on his right. "You know," the boy on his left said, "a lot of us don't like you. 'Us' being the third years. A cocky second year like you, getting so much respect... It's unfair."

Kirihara remained silent.

"We've been trying to figure out why the regulars think you're so special," the other boy said. "After talking to some of the other third years, we finally found out why."

"We all know the only reason your on the regulars is because they're screwing you," the first boy said. His friend snickered. "I mean, we saw you at the tournament. Nothing special if you ask me. But, Akaya-chan, they hold you up so high. It's like you're on a little pedestal."

"Probably so they can look at your ass," the other boy said. "Why else would they care about a pathetic, little second year like you? There're third years that are a lot better than you. Why else would they call you 'Akaya?'"

Kirihara clenched his hands into fists. It wasn't a rumor he hadn't heard before. There were tons of ideas about why the regulars addressed him in such a familiar way even though Kirihara wasn't particularly close to any of them anymore. Kirihara didn't even know why they called him by his given name. Honestly, he didn't care. He was used to it.

"Is that all?" Kirihara asked calmly.

"Yeah. I think Sanada over there could use a little pick me up," one boy said. "Maybe you two can disappear, do a quickie in the locker room. We'll cover for you, Akaya-chan."

Kirihara stood up, stepping down the bleachers.

"Akaya-chan. Your ass isn't that nice."

Kirihara continued walking, ignoring the two. He spotted Marui and Jackal at the fountains, and decided he would join the Squirt Gun War, if only to soak those two asses. He walked right by Hayashi on his way to the fountains, who gave him a somewhat haughty smirk before joining his friends.

Kirihara pretended nothing happened. He knew the regulars would kick those two – maybe those three – off the team if they had heard what they said to him. He didn't need them to handle two idiots. He wasn't the baby of the team anymore.

.

Marui and Jackal stood in front of a line of eight boys. Kirihara was in the front, holding a gigantic squirt gun. Urayama was in the line, too, but Oyama was missing. Marui spotted him under a tree, working on homework. Niou was at the back on the line, holding his gun against his chest – "Okay, Squirt Gun War is fun," he had said with a twisted smile.

"You will fight!" Marui shouted.

"Yes, sir!"

"You will squirt!"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you will soak!"

"Yes, sir!"

Marui nodded to the boys, a huge smile on his face. Jackal held his gun at his side, his voice booming through the courts as he said, "The fountains are a safety zone. If you stay for too long, we're allowed to soak you to the bone. Remember, if you find allies, you will have to turn on them. Only one man will survive."

"Yes, sir!"

"Squirt Gun War has begun!" Marui and Jackal shouted, pointing their guns at the boys. "GO!"

.

Yukimura, Sanada, Yanagi and Koga watched the boys of the Squirt Gun War run. Marui and Jackal unleashed a waterfall of water. Niou, Urayama and a few others sprinted, escaping without getting hit by a single drop. Yukimura smiled when Niou shimmied up a tree and grabbed a book bag.

Koga was sitting next to the captain, while Sanada and Yanagi sat a little lower on the hill. Yukimura stretched his legs out, leaning back on his hands, one of which was tangled with Koga's. "Genchirou, what was Niou doing during morning practice?"

"He was at the fountains," Sanada answered.

Yukimura looked back at the tree. Niou had unzipped the book bag, and was pulling out water balloons. Yukimura winced when one hit a boy in the back of the head. "So glad I didn't do Squirt Gun War this time. Maybe after Kanto..."

"They do this all the time?" Koga asked. Yukimura couldn't tell if she was scared, amazed, confused, or any combination of the three.

"After every tournament we win," Yukimura said. "It's generally fun. Unless Niou plays. Then it's just..."

Sanada grunted in agreement. Yanagi nodded.

Koga decided she didn't want to know.

.

Urayama knelt down behind the tree Oyama was sitting under. The pink haired boy was looking around, trying to find anyone who might want to attack.

"I thought Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai only had ten guns," Oyama said, barely moving his lips. He was looking down at his book, and his hair covered his face. He didn't know why he was playing along. "Why are so many people running around?"

"Niou-senpai made water balloons this morning. He handed them out to a lot of the members. Yagyuu-senpai is somewhere. I swear I saw him in a tree," Urayama said.

Oyama was just about to sigh when a water balloon hit him right in the middle of his head. He looked up, glaring at Niou, who was already running towards his next target.

"Alright, that's it," Oyama muttered. He grabbed his school bag, pulling out an enormous super soaker. Urayama's eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he saw that the water container in it was full.

"Kenta, why did you bring that? And why is it full?"

"Marui-senpai sent me a text last night and told me to bring it," Oyama explained. "I filled it up in the bathroom when no one was looking. I mean, if you don't want me to join, I don't have to."

Urayama smiled. "Let's go."

The short boy got up and made a dash for the bleachers, keeping low, shooting a second year as he ran. Oyama grabbed his gun and followed.

.

Kirihara was crawling in the grass, trying to avoid being seen by Yagyuu. Niou always dragged Yagyuu into these things one way or another. Last year, after they won Nationals, Yagyuu carried around buckets of ice water. It was horrid.

Kirihara spotted Hayashi's friends sitting at the bleachers. Kirihara crawled over, hiding, setting up his soaker like a sniper rifle. Hayashi wasn't with them, and Kirihara was glad. While he didn't like Hayashi, he wanted to send a message to those jerks.

_Don't mess with me._

Kirihara pulled back the trigger. To his surprise, three streams of water hit the boys. Kirihara squirted the two third years as they retreated, swearing about this damn club or something like that. When they were out of his firing range, he looked back at the bleachers.

Oyama was smiling. Urayama was doing a victory wiggle.

.

Urayama and Oyama were hit by Yagyuu's water balloons. The two laughed, picking pieces of rubber out of their hair. Well, Urayama laughed. Oyama didn't look all that happy.

Yagyuu was taken down by Kirihara with a well aimed shot from the top of the referee's chair. Niou scrambled at the loss of his partner in crime, thinking of a new plan. Eventually, Niou climbed down a tree and hid behind Yukimura and Koga.

"What's your plan?" Koga asked. Yukimura gave her a look and she shrugged. "It's kind of fun to watch."

"I'm gonna wait. They're just about – yes! Akaya's out!" Niou said with a pleased smile. "You see, Marui and Jackal don't know I'm still in the game. Akaya did. Now that he's out, Marui and Jackal think that all they need to do is face off. Once there's one left, I'm going to strike."

The courts went silent as Marui and Jackal walked away from each other. They held their soakers at their sides, fingers on the triggers. If a tumble weed blew by, it would have been a western movie.

"It's been a good fight," Marui said dramatically. "But only one man can win."

"You've fought well, but I fought better," Jackal replied.

Then Marui moved. He brought his arm up, pointing his soaker –

Jackal was faster. A stream of water hit Marui in the chest. The red head dropped his gun in frustration, pulling at his wet shirt. Jackal walked over to shake Marui's hand. That's when Niou pounced. He shot up, sliding down the hill, rushing the two.

"Jackal! Niou's still in it. He's–"

Niou point the tip of his gun into Jackal's back before he had time to turn around. "Too bad, Jackal."

Niou pulled the trigger, water slowly running down Jackal's shirt.

Jackal closed his eyes in defeat. "You win, Niou."

Niou grinned. "I always win."

.

The boys gathered around the courts, most of them wet. Koga watched from the hill, wondering why Yukimura had called everyone into one area. Sanada and Yanagi stood behind their captain, their expressions dead serious.

"It's been a fun day. Congratulations to Niou for winning yet another Squirt Gun War," Yukimura said. Niou raised his soaker up as a small sign of victory. Yukimura smiled and continued. "Congratulations to all of the regulars for a job well done at the Prefectural Tournament. I hope you all enjoyed your day off. You deserve it because we claimed first place.

"Now, some of you may be happy with that. I know I'm not. I want first place at Kanto. I want first place at Nationals and claim our third straight win. I want the best of you on my team. I want you all to work. I want you to get mad at the regulars who think they're better than you. I want you to challenge them. I want you to win. I want you to take this seriously. Let me say this: we're going to do what I want.

"This isn't just tennis anymore. This is our pride being put on the line. This is our chance for glory. This is our chance to show that we're someone, something. This is our chance to show that Rikkaidai, that the gods of the courts, are here. This is our chance to show we're the best.

"Play time is over."

A few of the newer members shifted uneasily. Yukimura always seemed so – well, they never truly thought he was as terrifying as the rumors said. He had a pretty face. He sat up on the hill during practice, talking to his girlfriend. He didn't play in the last tournament. He seemed weak.

In that moment, they understood.

Yukimura Seiichi was the Child of God.

He was their leader, their captain.

Sanada shouted for everyone to go to the locker rooms. Yukimura was the only one who didn't move. Sanada and Yanagi didn't say anything to their friend, and headed for the locker rooms. Yukimura closed his eyes, taking a deep breath that made his lungs so full they felt like bursting. When he let it out, he felt his mind clear, his muscles relax.

There was something to be said in knowing that you would be facing monsters on the courts. It was thrilling. It made Yukimura's blood race.

Koga got up from the hill, wandering over to where her boyfriend was. Hearing her footsteps, he opened his eyes and looked at her, giving her a questioning look. She generally stayed at the hill while everyone changed.

She smiled at him. "You know, you say some pretty cool things from time to time, Yukimura."

He smiled at her. "What else did you expect?"

"For you to act like an idiot," she teased. When he frowned, she laughed into her hand.

He stared at her, mesmerized by something about her that he couldn't put his finger on. It was one of those moments that he took a mental snapshot of, one of the moments he never wanted to forget.

"Koga-chan?"

She moved her hand, still laughing softly despite her best attempts to stop. "Yeah?"

He cupped her face, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "You're beautiful." She wrapped her fingers around his wrists, staring up at him with those kind eyes that seemed ten times bigger than they usually did. Without a second thought, he bent his knees, pressing another kiss to her lips.

Then Niou shouted, "Get it!" from the locker room door. Marui cat whistled. Kirihara clapped.

Yukimura pulled away, half tempted to laugh. Koga's ears were flaming red. "I need to go kill someone," he said, dropping his arms to his side, bringing her hands with him.

Koga nodded, shifting her grip so their fingers were laced. "Remember, when slitting a throat you don't pull the head back because the windpipe gets in the way."

"Thanks for the tip."

He let go of her hands and the jogged over, shouting that Niou was going to be the one to "get it." The three scrambled into the locker room, closing the door. Yukimura caught the door with his foot, trying to pry it open, while the three tried to pull it shut from the other side.

Yukimura could hear Koga laughing from the courts.

* * *

**A/N: When I started this story, I never thought I would become this attached to it. I love these characters and my OCs more than I thought was possible. Thinking about how I want this fic to end (many, many chapters away from now – like, probably more than fifty) is making me upset. **

**Anonymous: **I hope this reply clears some things up for a lot of you readers who keep mentioning Marui and Suzuki. Marui and Suzuki are not and will never be a couple in this story. Marui does not think of Suzuki as a girl (he thinks she can handle herself, doesn't really mention her emotions, etc) and cannot think of her in a romantic way. He thinks of her as a sister. Same for Suzuki; she doesn't think of Marui as a boy, she thinks of him as a brother figure since she is an only child.

Ito and Suzuki have a romantic plot. Ito and Suzuki were friends before she met Marui. The two had a falling out in junior high (it's explained in chapter 15), and that's why Suzuki is kind of _eh_ about Ito all the time and constantly says she hates him. The fact that Ito teases her doesn't help. Ito does have a crush on Suzuki (it can be implied through many scenes, including V-day in chapter 35), and he has a hard time of showing that in a serious manner. Suzuki's opinion of him has changed since the beginning of the story, but she's still _eh_ at this point.

I'm not saying that Ito and Suzuki will get together (though it is heavily implied). However, Marui and Suzuki will never be more than friends :)


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44.**

"Music to my ears," Niou said as the final bell of the day rang. Gathering his things, he looked at Marui. "Tell Yukimura I gotta swing by the student council room with Hiroshi really quick. We might be a bit late. Oh, Suzuki, don't jump Ito's tootsie-pop at practice."

Niou winked and left the room, ignoring the rude hand gesture Suzuki pointed in his general direction. He headed straight for the student council room, which was unlocked. Yagyuu was at the desk moving around several folders.

"Did you ask Marui to tell Yukimura –"

"Yes," Niou said before Yagyuu could finish. "So what'd you need my help with?"

Niou set his bag on the ground and sat on the edge of Yagyuu's desk. The Gentleman handed him a red folder. "The budget. Our class treasurer can't do simple math, and I don't have the time to go through with a calculator. Just tell me how much money we have left."

Niou opened the folder, flipping through the pages. He let out a stream of air through the corners of his mouth, his cheeks puffing slightly. Yagyuu gave him a curious look. "Give me ten minutes," the Trickster said.

Yagyuu nodded. Niou flipped back to the front of the folder, his brain working in ways that Yagyuu couldn't imagine. Yagyuu wondered if Niou's father ever had his son take an IQ test. Yagyuu wouldn't be surprised if he had. Niou's ability to manipulate and recall numbers wasn't something normal people could do.

Niou paused, flipping between two pages. "You're missing January in here."

Yagyuu sighed and pulled the folder out of Niou's hands. "I'll talk to the treasurer and do it later. Sorry for bothering you."

"No problem. I needed an excuse not to go to practice. Marui overheard Sanada talking to Yukimura, and apparently we're doing suicides today."

"Shall we pretend to be working for half an hour so we can skip said suicides?"

Niou smiled. "You read my mind."

"I saw in the news that there's another big meeting at your father's company coming up," Yagyuu mentioned, trying to start up a conversation. "Are you attending this one as well?"

"Riko and Kenji are. I don't think I am. I'm pretty sure half the department heads hate me," Niou said without any sign of caring. "Ever since I called out that accountant for smuggling, my dad's been going through every department with Sato-san and his new accountant."

"Sato? Wasn't that the girl you met at Atobe's party?"

"His daughter."

"Ah." There was a brief pause before Yagyuu asked, "Did you ever call her?"

"No."

"With your luck, you'll run into her."

Niou grabbed a pencil and began to twirl it. "Like that will ever happen."

Yagyuu sighed. "Whatever you say, Niou-kun."

.

Niou groaned as he walked up his driveway and towards his house. He should have just called the driver to come and pick him up. His legs ached, his back felt like it had needles in it, and he could barely move his arms without them shaking. Yukimura was dead serious about play time being over – even though they had a reason for being late, the captain made Niou and Yagyuu run the suicides they missed. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of a nice, hot bath.

When he reached the cars, he stopped and stared. There was an extra car in the driveway that he didn't recognize. He walked up to the front door, taking several minutes to locate the correct key on his ring. After going inside, he took off his shoes and dropped his bag. Then he headed for his father's office, wondering if he had a meeting.

He walked right past a girl who was sitting with her back pressed against the wall. He opened the door, looking inside. His father was at his desk and a man was sitting across from him. "Masaharu, are you alright?" his father asked. He hit himself in the forehead. "Where are my manners? Masaharu, this is Sato. You two have met before. He's my lawyer. Well, one of them."

"Hello. Good-bye." Niou closed the door without another word. He turned and focused on the girl who was sitting on the floor. Her hair was long and her legs longer. She was wearing a diamond owl pendent necklace, one he had given her. She looked up at him with a small, amused smile.

"You look like you've seen a girl you didn't call for two months, Bond."

Sato Ree.

Niou made a mental note to kill Yagyuu for jinxing him.

"Why are you here, Spade?"

"I was on my way to dinner with my dad when your dad called, saying he found something suspicious in a report or something," Sato explained. She glanced up at the high school boy. "Is there a reason you smell like mud and sweat?"

"Tennis practice."

"I see."

A silence fell between the two that Niou didn't understand. Two months had passed since Atobe's party. He hadn't called her. He didn't know why, he just hadn't. He didn't particularly want to see her either, but apparently the universe hated him.

"Are you going to sit or go?" she asked. "Personally, I think it would be very amusing to watch you stand there like a brainless monkey."

Niou sat down next to her, smiling when she wrinkled her nose. "Just sweat, Spade."

She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing. His comment had been a joke. He didn't smell like 'just sweat.' It was sweat and mud and grass and something fruity in his hair gel.

"You know, you smell like cheap flowers," Niou told her.

"I'm not wearing perfume. Perhaps you can smell your own stench?"

Niou kept his face blank. "_Right_."

Another silence. This one wasn't broken by someone speaking – it was broken when Sato stood up and stuck her head into Niou's father's office. After a quick conversation, she pulled her head out and closed the door.

"I'm going for a walk." Niou, figuring he had nothing better to do, forced himself to his feet. His thighs protested, but he pushed through the pain. She gave him a strange look. "Okay, go ahead and invite yourself."

"Well, I assumed you wanted me to come," Niou reasoned. "You'll get lost."

"Lead the way, Bond."

She seemed different from the girl Niou had met at Atobe's party. She was more carefree then. Well, perhaps "carefree" wasn't the correct word. There was just something about her that seemed different, almost as though she didn't want to be anywhere near him. At the party she had been closed off, but didn't give off an aura of pure dislike.

The two turned down a hallway, Sato following Niou. He led them to nowhere in particular, stopping in a sitting room. He expected her to go sit at a sofa, but she didn't. She turned and looked at him, bluntly asking, "Why didn't you call me?"

"What?"

"Just answer the question."

"What?" he repeated, not sure what she was getting at. Was she seriously expecting him to answer that? Wasn't it obvious why he didn't call?

She ran a hand through her long hair, her eyes darting to the side before meeting his. "You didn't call me. Was there some sort of miscommunication on my part? Because personally, I think my message was pretty clear."

"What was clear? That you think I'm an ass? Yeah, it was."

She raised her eyebrows fractionally for the briefest of moments. "I meant me slipping my number into your pocket. Generally if someone does that they want to be called. Since you didn't call me and it's been two months, I can either assumeyou're an ass or there was a miscommunication. Excuse me for wanting it to be the latter of the two."

Niou put on a cool look, the one that made the girls' eyes soften. Her eyes didn't change. They were still strong, determined, sure. "Well," he said, "maybe I didn't want to call you. You're not exactly a princess, Spade."

"Nor are you a prince, Bond."

A smile flashed on Niou's lips. She didn't return it. "Come on, Spade, give me a break. After all, I'm just a cocky high school student who has a dominant personality, or some crap like that."

"I don't even remember what I said to you that night."

"You're lying."

"Prove it." She pulled at his uniform's tie, tugging him forward and rubbing the fabric between her fingers. "If you're as smart as you act, prove that I'm lying."

Niou glanced down between their bodies, at her hand on his tie, and then back at her face. His signature smirk crawled onto his lips. "You want me to kiss you."

Her fingers froze for a moment. Then they were moving again, but Niou had seen it. She hesitated. She did want him to. "In your dreams."

"You want me."

"You smell like death."

"No, you totally want me."

She let go of his tie, gently pushing on his chest with her hand. He took a step back, his smirk faltering. "Get over yourself, Bond."

Niou rolled his eyes and slipped his hands into his pockets like he didn't care. He didn't care at all. She was a brat who thought she was above him, that she could play him. She was in over her head. She was messing with the Trickster.

Sato walked over and sat on a sofa, pulling a leg underneath her. Niou sat on the other end, stretching his legs out. When he poked her with his foot, she said, "Now that we're on the same page, I'm expecting a phone call."

"I don't date, and you said you wouldn't date me anyways. I haven't had a change of heart, Spade. Have you?"

"No," she answered immediately. Niou wondered why she did that. He didn't know anyone who denied things so quickly. "You're the one who brought up dating, Bond. Subtlety isn't your forte."

"But you want to go on a date with me," he said. "I know you want to. You like me."

"I've met you twice."

"Hormones don't care about how many times you meet someone. Physical attraction can make your brain do some funky things, Spade. Have you been poisoned by something that deteriorates brain cells?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

The two fell into a silence yet again. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, it was just a silence that neither wanted to break. She stared at him, her gaze going right on through. Niou stared back, wondering what was on her mind. She was different from him, yet the same.

It was Niou who broke the silence: "I'll call you."

Her smile was genuine.

His was fake.

.

After Sato and her father left, Niou headed up to his bedroom and then into his bathroom, stripping out of his school uniform. He still smelled like sweat and mud. After depleting the house of hot water, he changed into street clothes. He wasn't going anywhere, but it was far too early to prance around in his pajamas.

One of the maids had put his bag on his desk saving him the trouble of going back downstairs. He walked over, pulling his phone out of a pocket. He quickly dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello, Yagyuu Hiroshi's phone. Naomi speaking."

"Hey, Nao-chan, you sound grown up."

"Niou-nii!" Niou could see her smiling. "Hiroshi said you were coming over this weekend."

"Yeah, I am. I'll talk to you a lot then, but right now I really need to talk to Hiroshi. Is he around?"

Niou heard Naomi shout out Yagyuu's name, causing the Trickster to smirk. After a quick conversation between the siblings, Niou heard Yagyuu's signature sigh. "Niou-kun, what is it? You know this is when I do my homework."

"You freakin' jinxed me, you bastard. Guess who was at my house when I got home?"

"A ninja?"

"Oh, bite me, Hiroshi," Niou muttered. "_Sato Ree_. I'm going to kill you tomorrow. I'll make it look like an accident, too. I watch spy movies. I could pull it off. I'm rich. You can do anything when you're rich."

"Niou-kun, either stop threatening me, or hang up and do your homework."

Niou rolled his eyes and leaned against his desk, crossing one arm across his chest. "I told her I'd call. I'm not planning to. The girl called me a narcissist. She's a fool if she thinks I'm calling her."

"You're obsessing."

"I'm not obsessing." Niou would have yelled a few words very loudly, but he had the feeling Naomi was still in the room and didn't want to risk her overhearing. "I'm simply getting revenge."

"And you're fine with getting revenge in a childish way?"

"I'm perfectly okay with that."

Yagyuu sighed again. "I'm handing the phone back to Naomi. She wants to talk to you. Do your homework when you're done."

Niou moved the phone and stuck his tongue out at it, but quickly put it back to his ear to talk to Naomi.

.

He hung up his phone half an hour later, after Naomi had run out of things to talk about. He wondered when he became so attached to her, thinking of her like his own sister. Probably the same time she started to call him "Niou-nii."

He tossed his phone onto his bed, turning and looking at his bag. He debated doing homework or studying. The thought of calculus was tempting, but that'd lead to typing that history essay. He really didn't want to type that history essay...

Niou headed out his room and downstairs, making his way to the sun room. More likely than not, Kenji would be in there, doing his homework. Unless he had choir practice. Niou really hoped he was there. His legs ached and a marathon runner wouldn't consider the walk to the sun room short.

Niou stopped at the doorway. Kenji was in the room alright, but so was a girl. She was young, around Kenij's age, with a big smile. Niou recognized her. She was Kenji's duet partner. The two were sitting close. Niou doubted Kenji had any intentions of doing anything with her – Niou doubted his little brother even thought of girls like _that _just yet– but he backed away from the room anyways. Just in case.

Deciding he might as well do his homework, Niou worked his way back through the halls.

.

When he got back up to his room, he looked at his book bag. "I'll do it later," he mumbled to himself.

He sat on the edge of his bed, opening the drawer of his nightstand. He shifted around the contents, grabbing the playing card that was in there. The ace of spades. He stared at it for a moment, looking at the name 'Samantha Spade' and then the number.

The plan had been to drag her along to get revenge on her for calling him a narcissist. He had planned on proving that he could outsmart her, that she wasn't better than the Trickster. As he went to rip the card in half, Naomi's face flashed in his mind and he froze.

Naomi, who grew up in a dysfunctional house, who was cold to people she didn't know. The first time Niou went to Yagyuu's house, Naomi was five and she stayed locked in her room. Slowly, she got used to him, and she turned into a ball of never ending energy. Yagyuu was similar to her. Always polite. Always pretending things were perfect.

Suzuki was closed off, too. Sure, she was loud and obnoxious, but she didn't let anyone in. She was terrified of being hurt, terrified of being betrayed. Niou doubted that she opened up to anyone besides her family, Marui, and perhaps Ito.

Yukimura had lost his mother when he was twelve, and was in the hospital a year later being told he couldn't play the one sport, the one thing he had control over. He pushed everyone away, even Sanada and Yanagi. Niou couldn't remember the last time Yukimura had told his sister he loved her. He'd say "ditto" or "me, too" but never actually said it.

Sato was cold and focused on the bad in people rather than the good. She probably had her reasons, just like Naomi, and Yagyuu, and Suzuki, and Yukimura. Niou remembered how she smiled and laughed at Atobe's party. Was she like all the time around people she trusted, around people she knew inside and out?

Niou crawled to the other side of his bed, getting his phone to call Sato.

He blamed Yagyuu for turning him into a softie who gave a damn about people.

* * *

**A/N: Sato. Sato-freaking-Ree. Not my favorite character, buuuut I brought her back anyways. If you don't like her, too bad because she's staying for a bit and will be appearing in random chapters for small amounts of words. (Get it? "Words" instead of "time?" I'm a loser. I know.) **


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45.**

Yukimura was sitting on the sofa in the captain's office flipping through papers on a clipboard. Yanagi had collected information on the regulars and the members they believed could possibly become regulars, and then ordered that data into charts to show their improvement. Yukimura sometimes forgot just how smart Yanagi was.

"Oyama-kun and Urayama-kun are improving a good amount now that they're on the third year schedule," Yukimura said. "I'm assuming they'll sign up for the next regular-challenges. If they don't, I want someone to play a match against them. Also, despite his attitude, Hayashi is improving as well. I wish I could say the same for his friends..."

"I've seen Marui and Jackal leaving practice with Urayama-kun and Oyama-kun," Yanagi mentioned. "I believe they're practicing together."

"That would explain why Marui's stamina is going through the roof," Yukimura said, flipping to the regulars' charts. "I don't know what they're trying to do, but they'll be stronger at the next tournament."

"I'm concerned about Yagyuu's Laser. It's to the point where it's just as powerful as it is fast," Sanada said. It was rare he complained about the power of shots, but when he did, he was dead serious. "If he takes off his wrist weights and the ball hits an opponent, someone could be permanently injured."

"Then we won't let him take his weights off," Yukimura said. He set the clipboard down the next to him and sighed. "Anything else before we go out?"

Neither of the two said anything. Yukimura grabbed the arm of the sofa to push himself up, but he froze when Yanagi calmly said, "The week after graduation, I'm flying to Italy to learn Italian so I can continue my studies there."

Yukimura blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What?" Sanada asked.

"I will be attending university in Italy," Yanagi explained. He looked at Sanada, and then Yukimura. "I hope both of you will understand. This is an amazing opportunity. I'll learn another language, another culture. To be honest, I'm ecstatic. It's been quite some time since I've been excited about a specific event."

"All I understand is that you're leaving, and you waited this long to tell us," Yukimura said. "Why are you going?"

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity –"

"You're flying half way across the world." Anger wasn't an emotion that was generally associated with Yukimura, but impatience and aggravation were. "How could you make this decision without asking our opinions?"

"Because I don't want to be tethered to you for the rest of my life just because you're scared of losing us." Even Yanagi seemed surprised by his own words. He was never that harsh. "Seiichi –"

"Go to Italy," Yukimura said curtly. The captain stood up and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him, causing Yanagi to flinch. Though anger wasn't associated with Yukimura, it did occur from time to time.

Yanagi turned his head to look at Sanada. "I needed to tell him eventually."

Sanada nodded in agreement. "Yes, but maybe you should have told him after practice? When he didn't have the ability to take it out on dozens of people?"

Yanagi sighed and sat down on the sofa, his thoughts pouring out of his mouth without him meaning for them to. "I've wanted to go to Tokyo University all my life, and now I wish to go to Italy. I don't understand why the situation has changed. I'm still doing what I want to, and Seiichi should be okay with that. I was a fool. I miscalculated."

"Calm down."

"You know how he is. He can't handle change, and he has a problem with people leaving, whether it's physically or actually dying. He's probably demanding that everyone does laps. I shouldn't have said anything."

"_Calm down."_

"He's going to pretend I don't exist to soften to blow of me leaving. Am I conceited for thinking he'll miss me? He probably loathes me. I know he loathes me. I would hate me, but he's going to loathe me. I'm a terrible friend."

"RENJI!"

Yanagi looked up at Sanada.

"Don't say you're a bad friend. He needs to forgive you. He doesn't have many friends," Sanada said firmly. He wondered if that's the process in which Yanagi thought, and then decided he didn't want to know. If it was, Yanagi's mind was chaotic.

Yanagi thought about it. Friend. By definition, it was someone you were attached to by affection or esteem, a favored companion. Yanagi didn't like that definition. It was too vague. Friendship was so much more complicated than that. It was one of the few things he never understood. No matter how many books he read, he could never understand why someone would want to be a friend to him.

Yet, he did have friends. Inui was his first friend, but Yukimura and Sanada were so much more than friends to him. They didn't care that he was a "nerd." They laughed at his jokes even if they didn't understand them. They listened to him if he really needed to be listened to. The three of them were completely different, but they were "friends." He never understood why.

Yanagi nodded once. "You're right. I let my emotions get the best of me. I apologize."

Sanada sat on the sofa, clasping his hands together. "Emotions are what make us human. They make us weak. This world would be so much easier if we didn't feel."

Yanagi gave him a strange look. "Genchirou, what are you talking about? I have the feeling we're not longer talking about Seiichi wanting to decapitate me."

"Decapitate?" Sanada questioned. "Renji, Seiichi will come around. Chances are he's probably already okay with the idea. At least, he'll pretend to be okay. He smiles in public even when his mind is a mess. You know that."

"You'll write, won't you?" Yanagi asked arbitrarily.

Sanada's nod was barely visible. "Of course. Just don't act like you're leaving tomorrow. You still have a few months. Seiichi will probably stick to you like a leech."

"I'm expecting as much."

The two shared a knowing smile. Yukimura was insane.

The door to the office flew open, a nervous looking first year staring at the two. "Yukimura-buchou says that if you two dilly dally anymore, he'll do some things to you that I don't feel comfortable saying."

Sanada suppressed a sigh. Yanagi stood up and headed to the door. When they got outside, they saw Yukimura sitting on his hill. It was warm, the sun bright and blinding them momentarily. The two walked over, and then Yanagi sat down next to him and apologized.

Yukimura gave him a quizzical look and asked, "Apologize for what? Oh, I need to stop by the book store after practice. Do you think they have Japanese to Italian dictionary?"

Yanagi gave Yukimura a thoughtful look. "More likely than not."

Yukimura leaned back on his hands. "That's good. I'll need it for when I visit."

"You stormed out of the room after I told you, and you're already planning visits?"

"I did no such thing. I made a dramatic exit. There's a difference."

Sanada huffed, something like a half-laugh. Yanagi smiled.

Yanagi knew that Yukimura was lying. Yukimura's mentality wasn't that simple. So much had happened to him in such a short time – going into junior high, his mother's death, his disease – that it changed him. Still, it was nice to know that Yukimura would lie to make him feel better about his decision. Yanagi finally understood.

Friends (plural), noun: Yukimura and Sanada.

That was as good a definition as anything.

.

"Hiroshi."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi."

"I'm sitting right next to you, Niou-kun."

"Yukimura's PMSing again," Niou said from the bench he was sitting at.

Yagyuu sighed beside him. "And why is that?"

"He came out of the locker room, yelling that anyone who couldn't do a hundred pushups without falling would run until their legs disappeared. Now, he's laughing and isn't even paying attention to the fact that we never started those pushups," Niou said. He turned his head, looking at Yagyuu, lips twitching into a smirk. "I told you we could get away with it."

"No, you said, 'let's sit on the benches and see if Buchou pisses his pants when he screams at us.'"

"And you went along with it."

"Obviously." Yagyuu pushed his glasses up. "Do you want to come over after practice to study?"

Niou turned and looked at the courts, where every member was doing pushups. Niou cupped his hands next to his lips to amplify his voice. "Marui, stick that butt up! You look like you're humping the ground!"

"Shut up!" Marui roared.

"Niou-kun, why did you change the subject?" Yagyuu asked before Niou could yell anything back.

Niou dropped his arms, slinging them over the back of the bench. "I can't come over. Don't even bother asking why."

"For what reason can't you come over?"

"This is why I sincerely hate you," Niou said in a bored tone.

"Answer the question." Niou tossed his head back and groaned loudly. He lifted it back up, but didn't answer. Yagyuu started to ask it again, "For what reason –"

"I have a meeting with Sato, alright?"

"You have a date with Sato?"

Niou huffed, tilting his head back again. "Like I would ever date her. We're just meeting up. Say one more word about this, and I'm going to kill you. Instead, we're talking about how this Prank War sucks. When I went up against Marui, he put honey in my shampoo. Akaya painted 'princess' on my shorts. Yukimura hid a small radio in my bag and played pop music during the middle of class. Sanada isn't fighting back at all."

"You're upset because someone is being mature?"

"Yes, I am."

Yagyuu sighed. "Niou-kun, did you really expect Sanada to fight back? He isn't the type."

"I'm doing something big for April Fool's Day," Niou said, changing the subject again. "I'm debating between orange paint and marbles."

"Do marbles," Yagyuu said. "They're classic."

Niou smirked, looking at the clouds. "Will do."

"A date with Sato-chan?"

"You and Cupcake getting it on yet?"

Needless to say, the two didn't mention girls for the rest of practice.

.

After practice, Niou took a quick shower so Sato couldn't say that he stunk, and then headed into town to the ice-cream shop they agreed to meet at. Niou had never been in the shop, but he had passed by it once or twice. He preferred Sweet Treats because, even though it didn't have ice-cream, it had a lot of other things.

Niou sat at a bench outside of the shop, pulling out his phone. He was ten minutes early. He slipped his phone back into his bag, and pulled out a spiral and pencil. He sketched out the locker room and drew the inside of a locker a little lower. He wasn't the best artist, but it would work.

He scratched his head with the pencil. Marbles. He could always do a trip wire that released a bag whenever someone opened their locker. But if they went off early, the balls would sit in the bottom of the locker. Unless...

Niou dragged his pencil across the drawing of the locker, adding in a few adjustments. If he wedged a piece of cardboard in the lockers at an angle, the balls would roll down the slope and onto the floor. The trip wire would release the string holding the marbles in a bag. Simple, yet effective.

Someone stood in front of him, blocking out his light. They put a finger on the spiral, pressing down on it so they could see the paper. "A plan to tamper with school property? I didn't know you were a delinquent, Bond."

Niou lifted the spiral, pushing Sato's finger off of it. "I'm not a delinquent. It's a prank."

"That's childish."

Niou shrugged, slipping the spiral into his bag. "You can get away with childish things when you're a child. I figure I might as well take advantage of that. Being the son of a CEO doesn't hurt either."

Sato nodded once, fingers toying with the strap of her purse. "I see."

"Haven't you ever done something just to do it, Spade?" he asked. He grabbed his bag and stood up. Their bodies were close. He wouldn't have been able to move even if he had wanted to.

She took a step back, not the least bit phased by how close they had just been. "I don't do things that put me into embarrassing situations."

"Like asking me out for ice-cream?"

"It only would have been embarrassing if you played hookie. You showed up. Therefore, it's not embarrassing."

"This isn't a date," Niou said, as though he needed to clarify that.

"Obviously," she replied quickly. "Can we go in now, or do you plan to stand here all day?"

Niou bowed, gesturing towards the door with his hand. She rolled her eyes, tapping him on the back of the head as she walked towards the door. When her back was to him, he lifted his hands, curling his fingers so they looked like claws, and bared his teeth.

Sato pulled the door open. In the glass, she could see Niou. Her lips curled up into a slight smile. She turned around just in time to him stuff his hands into his pockets. "I'm very willing to forget this whole arrangement and eat by myself. Are you coming or not?"

"Right behind ya."

She walked inside, heading up to the counter. Niou followed her, looking up at the list of flavors that hung on the wall – there were dozens of flavors and toppings. The woman behind the counter smiled and said something about a new flavor, but Niou was too busy reading the preexisting flavors to listen.

"I'll have two scoops of strawberry on a sugar cone," Sato said.

"I'll have a scoop of mint chocolate chip, a scoop of raspberry, and a scoop of orange sherbet on a sugar cone," Niou said.

Sato gave him a strange look, her eyebrows were pushed together and her mouth was open. Niou didn't know she was capable of making such a look. "Three flavors?"

He shrugged. "I couldn't decide on a flavor."

She rolled her eyes with a soft smile, opening up her purse. He reached into his bag, pulling out his wallet. The two split the price, even though Niou's was a little more than hers. The two took their cones and sat down at a small table that was shoved up against the wall.

"They have the best ice-cream," Sato said. "When I was younger, whenever my dad had business in this area, he would take me to get a cone."

Niou licked at his ice-cream, wondering if she would keep talking. She didn't. She seemed perfectly content with sitting there in silence. What was the point of asking him here if she wasn't going to talk?

"You don't go to school around here, do you?" he asked curiously to fill the silence.

"No. I go to school in Tokyo."

"What university?"

She pressed her lips to her ice-cream, sucking at it. She did this several times, using the time to debate whether or not sure she should answer the question. Eventually, she said, "Tokyo."

Niou rocked his chair back, raising his eyebrows. He knew she was smart, but Tokyo University smart? Actually, it didn't surprise him.

"Does what kind of ice-cream you eat say a lot about you?" Niou asked. There was a hint of teasing in his voice. "I mean, you got a lot of information out of a chess match. I wonder what ice-cream says. It probably holds the key to the universe."

"Obviously it says what kind of ice-cream they like."

"I bet cookie-dough ice-cream could create world peace. Everyone loves cookie-dough ice-cream." Niou smiled when she smiled, running his tongue over the orange sherbet. "Why'd you pick this place even though it's outta your way?"

She shrugged slightly, her lips catching a drop of melting ice-cream. "Like I said, they have the best ice-cream. Why'd you agree to come?"

"Hell if I know." She hummed. He rolled his eyes. "Stop analyzing me, Spade. I'm not a puzzle."

"No, you're definitely a puzzle, Bond. A complicated puzzle." She looked down at her ice-cream cone, wrapping her lips around the top like she was kissing it. She licked her lips. "I like puzzles."

"Think you could do that anymore sexually?" Niou asked sarcastically.

"I think I could." Her lips turned up into a grin that made Niou uneasy. "But I'll leave it up to your imagination, Bond."

Niou smirked. "Trust me; you don't want to leave that up to me."

She nudged him under the table with her foot. She smiled at him – it was just a smile, nothing sexual, no deeper meaning – but he didn't smile back because he knew it was fake. He just didn't know why.

* * *

**A/N: Sato will appear randomly throughout the fic in little scenes like this for awhile. And did I (poorly) address an actual plot with the Yanagi-Italy thing? Yes, yes, I did. Only a million plot lines left. **

**ALSO. Check out my new one-shot, _The Morning Shift_, which is a Mukahi-centered fic with OCs. It's not the most exciting (it's actually a lot like the early chapters of this fic), but it's something.**

**Oh. Another thing. Thanks to all the anonymous reviewers. I really do love you guys :)**


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46.**

Miyagi and Kirihara were sitting in their seats in homeroom playing a game of hang man when Tanaka came in. She rushed over, smiling as she sat in front of Kirihara. "I got one of female leads in the play!"

"The school's doing a play?" Miyagi asked. Looking back at the game Kirihara and he were playing, he guessed, "E?"

"You tried out for a play?" Kirihara asked. He drew another leg.

"Do you two pay any attention to me when I talk?" Tanaka asked.

"No," the boys answered in unison.

She grabbed the piece of paper they were playing their game on, which earned her their complete attention. "The third years wrote it, and it is hilarious. It's going to rock."

"When's it come out?" Kirihara asked.

"Late April," she said. "I have rehearsals coming out the wazoo, and I don't even know what a wazoo is."

"I have tennis," Kirihara said offhandedly. "And a wazoo is a walrus at a zoo. Duh."

"I'm the social loser who doesn't do clubs," Miyagi said. He looked at Tanaka. "Do they need tech guys or anything? And I completely agree with that definition of wazoo."

She nodded. "Yup. But they generally ask for those later. They need guys to help do the sets because the art club is stuck up. I'll tell you when they start looking because I doubt you read the school newsletter."

"We have a newsletter?"

"Exactly."

Kirihara reached around Tanaka, grabbing the paper with their game of hang man. She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. Kirihara was cruel when it came to hang man. His favorite words to use were "oil" and "wax." The next game they played, he used "wazoo."

.

After school, Miyagi said something about going to the library. Kirihara and Tanaka promised to meet up with him after they were done with their club activities. Kirihara headed to tennis practice, and Tanaka went to the drama room to get her script and meet with the others participating in the play.

Kirihara spent most of practice listening to Niou talk about how he had a date with this girl (he claimed it wasn't a date, but it totally was) and how she was just terrible. Kirihara was slightly interested by any girl that could make Niou talk about her, but he quickly realized that he didn't give a damn. So he went over to bug Urayama and Oyama.

Tanaka headed straight for the library after a quick meeting with the drama club. She headed up to the loft, which was a small section on the second floor, and found Miyagi sitting at a table, half asleep and staring at an English book. She sat down next to him, tapping her script on his head.

"Ow," he mumbled, rubbing his head.

She rolled her eyes. "Like that would hurt, you big baby."

Miyagi hunched his back, resting his chin on his textbook. "You're physically abusive, Miho. This is an unhealthy relationship. I think it's time that we see other people. It's for the best."

She hit him again. "Shut up and do your homework. I need to read through this so I can figure out how I want to do my character."

"Who are you again?" he asked, sitting up straight. "You said you got the lead, right?"

"One of the female leads," she corrected. "Well, it's about this guy who invites a girl over to meet his family. Only his family is psycho, so he gets some buddies to be a pretend family while his real family is on vacation. Of course, his real family shows up and all hell breaks loose. I'm the girlfriend."

"I might actually come to see this one."

"You better. I'm going to rock so hard you'll lose your underwear."

"The expression is 'rock your socks off.'"

"I can do underwear. I'm that rockin'."

He rolled his eyes and grinned, looking back at his textbook. She set the script on the table, and began to read through it. Miyagi tried to focus on his work, but he couldn't. It was cliché and he was too much of a man to admit it, but he kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye whenever she snorted at a part of the script. He never thought snorting could be cute.

Kirihara showed up half an hour later, his hair still wet from his after-practice shower. He sat down next to Miyagi, groaning at the sight of his English book. "This better not be an intervention. I swear I'll stop cheating off of you on English tests."

"You cheat off of me?" Miyagi asked. "Dude, what the hell?"

"You're a freaking genius," Kirihara said with a shrug. "I only do it in English. You're asking for someone to look at it. You put your answer sheet on the side of your desk!"

"I'm going to write down the wrong answers, just to screw you over."

"Satoshi, you're the only reason I'm passing. Don't do that to me," Kirihara pleaded. He refused to beg, but he could plead. He was good at pleading.

"Stop acting like a chick."

"Hey, chick present," Tanaka said. "Maybe you wouldn't need to cheat if you actually studied?"

"I know most of the answers," Kirihara said, ruffling his hair slightly. "My English is a lot better than it was in junior high. It's just the weird words."

Miyagi grinned. "Remember when you mixed up 'penis' and 'pencil' during a speech, and you had no idea why Miho and I were laughing?"

Kirihara rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut it."

After a little banter between the three, they eventually went back to work – Tanaka continued reading her script while Miyagi helped Kirihara with English.

Tanaka poked Miyagi's shoulder, mumbling, "Guys, guys, _guys_..."

"What is it?" Miyagi asked as he turned to face her.

Kirihara leaned forward, looking over Miyagi to see her. "Miho, what's up?"

Tanaka turned in her chair, holding the script in front of her so they could see. She pointed to a spot half way down the page. The two skimmed, and then they saw a stage direction.

Kiss.

Tanaka set the script down, her shoulders dropping. She had a boyfriend. A boyfriend who didn't like her spending time with Kirihara and Miyagi, even though they were just friends. (Even though Miyagi wanted to be more than just friends, but Kirihara was the only other one who knew that.) How would he react to her having to kiss someone?

"Miho," Miyagi began, breaking the silence that had fallen between them, "it's just acting. He'll understand. It's your thing. He can't tell you not to do it, and if he does, he's an ass."

"I don't know what he'll do," she mumbled. She ran a hand through her hair, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "I'll have to talk to him."

"Don't worry about it," Miyagi said.

"Seriously, Miho, don't worry," Kirihara insisted. "Just call him tonight. Can we please stop talking about this? I think I'm turning into a girl."

Tanaka smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'll do that. And, Akaya, you'd make a bad girl. You just don't have the bone structure."

"I'd make a very lovely woman. My boobs would be great," Kirihara said. Then he stuck his tongue out at her. Miyagi rolled his eyes when she laughed, wishing she didn't have to smile like that.

.

The three stayed in the library until they were asked to leave. Miyagi had helped Kirihara with his English to some extent, but they both knew the tennis ace would rely on him for quite some time. As he closed the door behind him, Kirihara realized there was an extra pair of shoes at the door. Women's shoes.

"Hello?" he called out. His mother was visiting her cousin, and his father was working. Tanaka obviously wasn't in the apartment, so there was no reason for there to be a pair of heels at the door. Unless –

"Hey, Aka-chan."

Kirihara's fingers curled around his school bag, clenching it so tightly his knuckles turned bone white. His sister was leaning against the wall, a mischievous smile on her lips. She looked like him in a sense. Her hair was curly and dark, but longer, which weighed the curls down. Her eyes were brown – she didn't inherit their grandmother's eyes like Kirihara had. She always hated him for that. She always hated him for everything.

They never got along. When she moved out to go to university, Kirihara celebrated with Tanaka and Miyagi. She put him down in ways people didn't understand. She was the smart one, the one with the wealthy pre-arranged fiancé, the one who didn't chase after impossible dreams. She shoved it in his face every chance she got.

"Why are you here?" Kirihara asked as he walked to go to his room. He wanted to play a few video games before dinner. "Mom isn't home, and Dad isn't coming home tonight. Get kicked out of university or something?"

"Just came to see you," she said. As he walked by, she ruffled his hair and pushed down on his head with painful force. "And of course I'm still in university. I'm smart unlike you."

He wacked her hand away, and headed straight for his room. Her foot caught the door before it slammed shut. She knocked it back open, leaning against the doorframe as Kirihara sat down on his bed to undo his tie and take off his socks.

"What?" he asked bitterly. "Is there anything you want to poke fun?"

She crossed her ankles and arms. "Aka-chan, I don't need to poke fun at you. You're well aware of all of your flaws. I'd be a bad sister for pointing out everything that makes you worthless. Like the fact that you used to hear people."

"Shut up. I didn't hear people."

"Are you talking to me, or to someone else?"

He didn't hear people. He heard_ her_ voice, yelling at him, teasing him, putting him down. She was always in the back of his head, whispering that he wasn't good enough. He wasn't insane, just angry – all the time – at everything – at everyone – at _her_.

"Go away," Kirihara muttered. He stood up and walked over to his door. She was shorter than him, yet Kirihara felt short next to her. "I said, go away. This is my room."

She tilted her head fractionally, her eyes frigid with no signs of sibling love. "Oh, come on, Aka-chan, I was just asking if you're still a disappointment."

Kirihara slammed the door in her face. She shrieked as the wood came in contact with her nose.

"Son of a bitch!"

"We have the same mom. That makes you the bitch of a bitch."

"Akaya!"

Kirihara flipped the lock and walked over to his bag. He pulled out his ipod, and put his headphones in. He turned his music up so loud that he couldn't hear her yelling. He couldn't prove her wrong just yet, but he certainly could block her out.

* * *

**A/N: The laid back characters get some drama in a few chapters. Lots and lots of drama.**


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47.**

The sky had been gray all day, and most of the clubs had canceled their afternoon practice. Yukimura hadn't, not even when it started to drizzle. A little water wasn't going to hurt anyone.

Marui and Niou walked towards the locker room, their stomachs sinking when they saw Yanagi standing outside. Whenever Yanagi stood outside, it meant they were in the weight room, at the track running, or doing something else equally painful and insane.

"Do two laps around the soccer fields," Yanagi said once they got closer. "We're doing a group stretch after that, and then we're running."

"Suicides?" Marui asked. He groaned when Yanagi nodded.

The two headed into the locker room, dreading the thought of running all practice. The two changed, not wanting to drag this out. They left the locker room with Jackal and Yagyuu, the four of them jogging to the soccer field. Other members were already running their warm-up laps and others were sitting in the middle, having already finished their laps. A line of cones was set up, marking the distance they would be sprinting later.

The rain started to get a little harder, but nothing worth stopping practice over. A few people looked up uneasily at the sky, like it was going to collapse or something ridiculous. Eventually, Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi jogged over to the courts, ordering everyone to get into lines.

After a very thorough stretch, the regulars lined up with a group of first years, dreading their decision to join the club when Yukimura blew his whistle. The regulars had to run the sets with everyone, which meant doing ten sets because only so many of them could run at a time – two groups of first years, four groups of second years, three groups of third years, and the regulars' set.

As they ran, the rain got harder and the ground softer. It got to the point where Yukimura had everyone huddle under the bleachers in some attempt to stay dry after the last second year set. The regulars promptly collapsed.

"Holy crap, I think I rubbed my balls off," Marui muttered. He rolled onto his side, trying not to cough a lung up as air flooded into his chest. "I'm gonna die."

"I think I already did," Niou said.

"Oh, the paaaain," Kirihara chimed in.

Even Jackal was slightly winded. "Yukimura, this is ridiculous."

Yukimura had sweating rolling down his face – or was that rain? – but his breathing was normal. "I know. The weatherman didn't mention anything about rain!"

"Seiichi, I think he meant the running," Yanagi said gently.

"It's to improve stamina. Or something," Yukimura said to Jackal. He looked up at the sky, pressing his lips together. "We're starting again. The storms look like they'll end soon."

"Seiichi –"

Yukimura turned to the members before Sanada could finish. "It's not lightning, and if we go by the rules, we're allowed to practice," Yukimura said. "It's up to you whether you stay or go. After we are done the remaining sets, we will be doing basic conditioning. May I remind the regulars that our favorite brat is back from America, and I doubt the rest of the teams are going to skip practice because of a little water?"

That sparked a fire in every regular. The thought of Echizen, of Seigaku, of Hyotei, and of every other player in the tournaments was enough to get them to push through the pain.

Yukimura walked around the bleachers and back to the field, the regulars following after him. Most of the third years left without hesitation, though a few stayed behind, determined to prove to themselves that they could keep up with the regulars. Almost all of the second years left, some making up excuses to justify their actions. All of the first years left, all except for Urayama and Oyama. They sat under the bleachers, watching as the third years ran with the regulars.

Kirihara slid in the mud as he turned. He caught himself before he fell completely, but he still skimmed the mud. He swore and got back up. Ignoring the sting in his ankle that was telling him sharp turns in the mud weren't good for him, he picked up the pace. Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi weren't slipping up. He wouldn't slip up either.

Hayashi was going to join the sprinting boys when he felt someone grab his wrist and begin to pull him away from the field. Hayashi dug his heels into the ground tugged his arm away, asking, "What the hell was that for?"

"We're going," his friend said. He was one of the two who claimed Kirihara was sleeping with the regulars.

"I'm staying," Hayashi said firmly. If first years could stay, if that bratty second year regular could stay, then so could he. "You two can go."

His friend rolled his eyes, sprinting to the locker rooms without another word. Hayashi jogged back over, taking his spot next to Kirihara. He joined the boys again, unable to keep up with their pace. Hayashi half expected the brat to say something, like he was surprised someone who thought tennis was so easy would bother practicing. Kirihara didn't say anything – even he wasn't cruel enough to wreck someone's determination to prove himself. Kirihara knew how much it took out of you to try and prove someone wrong, and then fail.

.

The boys stumbled into the locker rooms, stripping out of their uniforms as they went. Their clothes were weighed down with mud and water. Hayashi could barely breathe. He looked at the regulars, wondering how the hell they could act like that was nothing. Even those two first years weren't in as bad shape as he was. After a little running and some crunches, he was done. How could they do it?

Hayashi turned and faced his locker, peeling his shirt over his head. The locker room was fairly quiet what with the lack of boys, and he could hear the regulars talking.

"My thighs are on fire," Marui murmured.

"At least you still have thighs. Mine disintegrated," Kirihara replied after taking off his shirt. He pressed his palms against his thighs, hissing loudly. "Fuc –"

"Akaya, language," Yanagi warned.

Kirihara rolled his eyes, and then felt something wet and heavy hit his head, and then cling to his exposed shoulder. Kirihara shrieked and pulled Niou's shorts off of him. He tossed them, and they landed by Yagyuu's ankle.

"Senpai, that's disgusting!"

Niou walked by towards the shower, tapping Kirihara on his left shoulder. Kirihara turned to look, but Niou was already on his right. The Trickster laughed, turning into the regulars' shower room.

Hayashi changed quickly, zoning in and out of their conversations. He didn't know how they could be so blatantly childish, yet downright scary when it came to tennis. Tennis wasn't that hard, but why did they care so much? It wasn't particularly fun. Okay, it was (not that he would ever admit that), but they enjoyed it to the point where it was creepy.

Hayashi closed his locker and headed for the door. He left, opening an umbrella before walking outside.

"Jackal, let's go get something to eat," Marui said. "I'm hungry, and Haruto and Hikaru are having friends over and I hate them. They're too damn loud."

Jackal shrugged. "Fine with me. Wanna run by Comet Café? I'm in the mood for their hot chocolate."

"Yes, totally. They have the scones in the whole freaking world."

.

After quick showers, the two headed into town and to the café. Marui wasn't kidding about the scones. He ordered one of every flavor and three of the chocolate in addition to an extra large hot chocolate with extra marshmallows. Jackal stuck to a muffin and a medium hot chocolate.

The two grabbed their food and sat down at a table, dropping their bags by their feet. "Did I ever tell you that Akira wants to name our formation the Suzuki Formation?"

Jackal ripped the top of his muffin off. "No. Do you want to? I mean, it was her idea and it does need a name."

"Just not Akira's," Marui said. "I like Marui is Awesome Formation."

"_No_."

"You'll come around to it."

"I highly doubt it, Bunta." Jackal dunked his muffin top into his hot chocolate.

Marui stared. "Dude, that's genius. Disgusting, yet genius." He picked up one of his scones, dunking it into his cup. When he bit it, his eyes went wide and his lips turned up into a smile. "Oh my god. I think I just experienced a foodgasm. So yummy!"

"I still haven't started working on an offensive move," Jackal mentioned. "Oyama-kun said there are a lot of shots that fit my body type, so it's up to me. I already know the Snake. I don't see the point in learning another."

"Wanna learn one of my genius moves?"

"I don't think I could," Jackal said honestly. "I'm too tall compared to you. It'd put too much pressure on my knees to squat at that angle. Urayama-kun is your height, and he can kind of hit the shot. Did you ever figure out why he can't hit it right?"

Marui shook his head. He dunked his scone into his hot chocolate, letting it soak up the liquid as he said, "I dunno. He's about my height, his form is right, but he just can't get it. His follow through is a bit funky, but I did the same thing he did and got it to work. It's my genius."

"Will you stop it with the genius crap? You ran into a fence and chipped a tooth."

Marui sent daggers at him, but couldn't help his face from melting in pleasure as he bit into his scone. "I can't be mad at you right now. I can't even remember why my legs hurt. Jackal, why didn't you tell me you were a culinary genius before?"

"I dunked a muffin into hot chocolate, that doesn't make me a genius."

Marui shrugged. "Whatever. Back to your move. Maybe you could do a really creepy Snake. Like Cobra. Or Rattlesnake. Dude, _Water Snake_. That'd be awesome."

"You just named snakes, not moves."

"I'm in food heaven. Don't expect me to make sense."

"I could just do something with a lot of spin," Jackal mused. When Marui moaned at another bite of scone, Jackal sighed. "So how 'bout them scones?"

"Jackal, don't get me started."

Jackal rolled his eyes and smiled. "Whatever you say, Bunta."

.

After Marui had finally finished his scones, they grabbed their things to leave. The rain drops were coming down like bullets. By the time Marui got home, he was soaked and his skin was sore to the touch. He tugged his blazer off and toed out of his shoes as he closed the front door with his butt.

"Haruto, Hikaru, are you guys here?" Marui called out. He knew their mother had work, and his step-father was visiting his ex-wife to arrange when Hikaru and Haruto could visit. Marui wasn't certain, but he was pretty sure his step-father had complete legal rights to the twins. Apparently the divorce had been messy, with his ex-wife cheating on him several times and forgetting the boys at school more than once because of it.

From upstairs, he heard Haruto – or was it Hikaru? – say, "We're in our room doing homework. Our friends left 'cause of the rain."

Marui didn't say anything in return. He headed upstairs and quickly changed into a pair of dry clothes, and then headed back downstairs towards the living room. He flopped down onto the sofa, swishing his wet hair like a dog. He would study later. He was too full and his legs hurt too much. Still, he was proud at how he kept up with the other regulars. His stamina really had increased. He grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

As he was flipping through the channels, he heard a click and the screen turned black. Within a second, the lights flicked off, the room covered in blackness. He waited a moment, and then decided the lights hadn't just bumped, that they were off. He swore.

Marui grabbed his phone out of his pocket, using the screen as a light. The sound of the rain and wind seemed to be amplified in the darkness. Marui knew it was because there was nothing running, but it was still unsettling. He maneuvered through the darkness towards the stairs.

"Haruto, Hikaru, there are battery-run camping lanterns in the hall closet!" Marui yelled. "Can you bring them down?"

"Yeah!" one of the twins shouted back.

Marui returned to the living room to wait. After a moment, he heard Haruto and Hikaru coming down the stairs. It was completely normal, until he heard one of them scream. Marui rushed back, swearing again when he saw Haruto on the floor, grabbing his ankle. The two camping lanterns were on, giving them light.

"I tripped," Haruto said, laughing dumbly.

Marui knelt down, picking up one of the lamps. He held it by Haruto's ankle, and swore for a third time. "I think you twisted it," Marui said. "Try moving it."

Haruto turned his foot slightly, hissing through his teeth. "Sprained. Definitely sprained."

"I'll get some bandages," Hikaru said, and then hurried back upstairs.

"Be careful!" Marui shouted. He looked back at Haruto, and sighed. He shifted so he could slid an arm around his step-brother's back, and then said, "Stand up before this position gets awkward. You can't just sit at the bottom of the stairs, and holding you like a chick is kinda freaking me out."

Haruto nodded, leaning on Marui as they stood. Marui was shorter by a good amount despite being the older of the two, which made Haruto's movements towards the sofa in the living room awkward and stiff. By the time Haruto was lying down, Hikaru had returned with a first aid kit. Marui took the lantern from the twin, setting one on the end table, and the other on the coffee table.

"Bunta, can you get some ice?" Hikaru asked as he knelt down next to his brother. He opened the box and pulled out a roll of bandages as Marui left the room. Softly, so Marui wouldn't hear in the other room, Hikaru asked, "Are you okay?"

"I just sprained it," Haruto said.

"You hurt your ankle a lot, though," Hikaru mentioned. "In soccer, when you trip you always twist it. Maybe something is wrong. You did break your leg when we were younger."

"No, I broke my arm," Haruto corrected. "You broke your leg."

"Right. My bad." Hikaru nodded. Just then, Marui returned with a bag of ice and an ice-pack. Hikaru carefully wrapped his brother's ankle, having a lot of practice with similar injuries due to years of playing soccer. In the back of his mind, he wondered if he had broken his leg. It was strange having someone out there who looked exactly like him, who thought like him, who had been next to him his entire life. Sometimes, Hikaru forgot who was who.

After wrapping Haruto's ankle, Hikaru put the ice-back underneath his foot, and the bag of ice on top. Marui was sitting in a chair, texting their mom to tell her what had happened. Suzuki had texted him too – apparently she didn't have power either and her dogs were going nuts.

Hikaru sat on the floor, his back to the coffee table. "So, what do we do now? Just wait for the power to flip back on?"

Marui shrugged. "Guess so. Unless you guys are up for some Monopoly or Clue."

"We're not two," Hikaru said harshly. "You're so childish, Bunta."

"Yeah, I am," Marui agreed as he shrugged again. "I wish I could be in junior high again. I took everything so seriously because I thought I was grown up. Then I got to high school and realized being grown up sucks. So, yeah, maybe Akira and I and my other friends are a bit childish. There's nothing wrong with playing board games and joking around."

Within ten seconds, Haruto asked, "Can we play Life? I like that game."

Marui grinned. "I'll get it from the closet."

.

They had moved the coffee table so Haruto could play from his spot on the sofa. Marui and Hikaru sat on the ground, a bag of chips next to the board. Hikaru moved his cars around the board, swearing whenever one of the people fell out of the car. He had two cars because he seemed to have landed on every child spot possible, or got pieces telling him to adopt children.

"This is ridiculous," the twin muttered.

Haruto grinned at his brother's frustration. "Look, you passed a child spot. I think that's a first."

Marui laughed when Hikaru ninja-starred his career card at his brother.

Marui always wondered what it would be like to have someone identical to him. He always thought of Haruto and Hikaru as the same person, despite their differences. Hikaru was more aggressive, he was the one with the short temper. Haruto was more childish, he was the one with a goofy side. But they were the same to Marui.

They laughed and poked fun at each other until they had all reached the end. They didn't tally up the money. Instead, they stayed seated, just talking. They talked about soccer. Marui talked about tennis. They talked about something funny that had happened at school. Marui talked about something that had happened with Jackal.

The three of them never really talked. They bickered and bitched, but never sat down and talked. Marui had been an only child for ten years. Eight years later, it was still strange saying he had brothers. Hikaru and Haruto had always had each other. They knew how to be good brothers. Marui didn't. He figured that if they wanted to talk to him, they would, and that he didn't have to be a nuisance and invade their lives.

After a little while, the lights came back on, but they kept talking. Hikaru eventually mentioned something about a girl. Haruto laughed and said she was a total tomboy, and how it made sense Hikaru used to have a crush on Suzuki. Marui laughed at that, going off mentally about how he was insane for ever liking Suzuki, but listened to him anyways.

"She's really cool," Hikaru said somewhat shyly. Marui had never seen him shy before. He wondered if the two of them had dated. He knew Haruto had kissed a girl, but they hadn't dated. He wondered if Hikaru had. Probably not given his flustered appearance. For someone who talked a lot of talk, he really was nothing more than a fourteen year old boy. "She's cute, though. She has pigtails, and likes Pokémon and soccer. She's on the girls' team."

"Kick a ball at her," Marui suggested. Hikaru looked skeptical. Haruto grinned. "Trust me. Guys think that girls don't get things like that, but they do. Ask Akira. She can tell when a guy is head over heels for a girl with one glance. Unless the guy likes her, then she's as oblivious as a spider when you ninja attack it with a shoe."

Haruto glanced at his twin brother, obviously forcing himself not to laugh at Marui's comparison. "Do it. She might kick it back at your head, but totally do it."

"You just want to see me get hit with a ball!"

"My ankle is hurt. You must not yell at the sickly."

Marui laughed, even if they didn't. They were a little stuck up at times, but when they acted like the kids they were, they were pretty cool. For the first time since their father had married his mother, he felt like they were really his brothers.

In the morning, after a night's rest, they were yelling at each over breakfast and mushy apples. Things were back to normal, and that was alright with Marui.

* * *

**A/N: I missed writing Haruto and Hikaru. Given how close Marui and Suzuki are, she must have spent a lot of time at his house, and I always thought one of the twins would have a crush on her at some point. Needless to say, I had to work that little idea into this fic :)**


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48.**

Sanada knew from the moment that he woke up that he was in trouble. It was April Fool's Day. The world might as well have renamed it Niou Masaharu's Christmas. He had hoped Niou would have forgotten about the Prank War before this day came, but no such luck. He walked to school with Yukimura, who had stolen his tea, complaining that it was tea and not coffee, and Yanagi, who was talking about Italy, which was the reason why Yukimura stole his tea. He wished it was Legalized Murder Day.

The three headed to morning practice. A few early comers, which included Marui and Jackal, were outside, waiting for Yukimura to show up and unlock the locker room. Yukimura unlocked the locker room and opened the door, but he didn't go in. Everything had to be done with a five second delay on April Fool's Day. After five seconds, Yukimura walked into the locker room, watching out for trip wires.

Niou's pranks had evolved over the years. Back in junior year, it was simple things, like honey in shampoo bottles, or posting a picture of Echizen in Sanada's locker. Now, they generally involved air horns, paint, duct tape, and well thought out schematics that included variables in the calculations.

Yukimura opened his locker, swearing mentally when a bag of marbles was opened by a string attached to the locker door. The small balls rolled down a piece of cardboard and to his feet. He carefully turned around, only to see the locker room in a state of panic. Every locker had marbles, including Sanada and Yanagi's.

"Ow, my butt!" Marui shrieked, hitting the floor after slipping on a marble.

It only got worse as more people showed up. They were given strict instructions not to open their lockers, but whenever you tell someone not to do something, they want to know why. Eventually, almost ever locker was open, people were swearing and slipping, and the floor was covered in marbles.

"Renji, what was that British expression used for upping morale in World War II?" Yukimura asked.

"Keep calm and carry on?"

"Yes, that's it. I believe the opposite is: now panic and freak out," Yukimura said. He looked at Yanagi for confirmation. When Yanagi nodded, Yukimura looked back at the locker room, watching boys slid on marbles. "I believe this situation calls for panic and freaking out."

Sanada didn't even get to assign Niou laps because the Trickster didn't show.

.

Niou was in the student council room with Yagyuu, flying a toy helicopter around the room in preparation for that afternoon. He didn't get to see the members slip on the marbles, but he had more pressing matters at hand, like learning how to work the helicopter. (And avoiding a slap-happy Sanada, who probably wouldn't care that there was a rule against corporal punishment.)

"Strike three of Prank IV will be awesome," Niou said with a huge grin. "They're going to kill us, though. Are you sure you're okay with your copter?"

Yagyuu glanced at the bag sitting on his desk, which contained his own remote controlled helicopter. "I'll manage. And it wouldn't be fun if they didn't at least attempt murder."

"I remember when I used to think you were proper."

Yagyuu pushed his glasses up with a small smile. He could give up his perfect image for a few minutes. Being proper all of the time was boring.

.

Niou headed off to class, the helicopter tucked safely into his bag. It had been one of his birthday presents, a prototype of a new toy his dad's company was making. He had fiddled with it during winter break, but never had a use for it. He had gotten it in winter, and it was an outdoor toy. But today, it would have its shining moment. (He borrowed Kenji's for Yagyuu to use.)

Niou smiled when he saw that Suzuki hadn't shown up to class yet. He set his bag down on his desk, digging through a side pocket. He pulled out three fake spiders, which looked incredibly real. Niou put the smallest one on her seat, and kept the other two in his pocket for later. He sat in his seat, waiting.

Suzuki and Marui came into homeroom together, talking about a hamster that Marui insisted had connections with pot dealers. Marui sat down at his desk, but Suzuki froze next to hers.

"Kill it!" she shrieked. "NOW!"

Marui leaned forward, barely able to see the tiny spider. He picked it up, glancing at Niou when he realized it was rubber. He tossed it at Suzuki, who jumped out of the way. She stomped the spider several times, oblivious to the fact that it was fake. Once it was "dead," she kicked it away and hit Marui with her bag.

"Don't do that again," she hissed.

"It was N –"

"Yeah, don't do that again," Niou cut in. "Why would you do that when you know she's scared to death of those horrible beasts? You're a terrible friend."

Suzuki gave Niou a look. "Are you high?"

Niou rolled his eyes, smirking when she looked the other way.

Niou put the second spider on top of her bento's rice when she wasn't looking. She stabbed it with her chopsticks.

He put the third spider on top of her notes when she began to doze off. When she woke up, she fell out of her chair.

As they were leaving class, Marui whispered something into Suzuki's ear. She punched Niou, who swore. That girl could punch like a man. A weak man, but a man. Marui didn't give him an ounce of sympathy, saying it was payback for making him break his butt on those marbles.

.

Niou took an alternate route to practice. Instead of going to the locker rooms, he climbed up into a nearby tree. The bark was poking at his skin through his pants and the birds were annoying, but he had a perfect view of the hill Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi sat at during practice. He carefully pulled his helicopter and the remote out of his bag.

Yukimura sat down at the hill after a few laps, and was joined by Sanada and Yanagi a few minutes later. Second and third years were doing serves, while first years picked up the balls. Niou pulled out a sticky note pad, scribbling something onto one. He attached it to the helicopter, and then grabbed the remote.

The remote had two control sticks, one for vertical movements, and one for horizontal movements. He had gotten the hang of it during his stay at the student council room during morning practice. He was pretty confident about not poking anyone in the eye.

He maneuvered the helicopter over to the hill, leaving it to hover in front of Sanada. The vice-captain took the note off the helicopter, which began to circle his head.

"What's it say?" Yukimura asked.

"'Strike three,'" he read. He furrowed his brow, lifting his head to look at the courts. Nothing seemed any different. No lizards were running around, and no balls were glued to the courts. Everything seemed normal. Then he felt it.

Something thin, cold, and sticky landed on his legs. He looked up, only to get a face full of silly string. Another helicopter had joined the first, a huge can of silly string taped to it. The dispenser button was also tapped down, causing it to shoot none stop.

The three shot to their feet, quickly moving down the hill, but the helicopter followed, continuing to spray them. The three took cover under a tree, but the other helicopter was already there, shooting them again. Niou flew his helicopter into the tree slowly, making sure Sanada and then didn't see him. He attached a can of silly string to it, and tapped down the button.

The three tried to run, but Niou's helicopter almost always found them, and Yagyuu's found them every single time. The rest of the members were watching and laughing as the three tried to keep a shred of their dignity intact. They refused to give in to Niou and Yagyuu, but they were completely covered in a rainbow of colors and running out of places to (attempt to) hide at.

Yagyuu and Niou went through four cans before the three finally called an end to practice.

Everyone headed into the locker room, where dozens of marbles were swept into the corners. Kirihara opened his locker, and then his school bag to get his phone to text Tanaka to see if she was still at school for a rehearsal or something. When he reached into his bag and curled his fingers to grab his phone, he swore so loudly that everyone turned and looked at him.

"Akaya, what's wrong?" Yanagi asked. He was picking bits of silly string out of his hair.

Kirihara pulled his hand out of his bag, several thumb tacks stuck in his hand. He clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth ached. Yanagi walked over, gently grabbing Kirihara's hand and examining his palm. Yukimura stared, his brow furrowed. Marui glanced at the other members in the locker room – more than a fair share of kids were grinning.

"Niou again?" Sanada asked.

"No, he doesn't do stuff like this," Marui said.

"Akaya, you gotta get those out and disinfect your hand," Jackal said.

"The first aid kit is in my office," Yukimura added. "Come on."

The regulars walked into the locker room, knowing Yukimura would want to ask if they had seen anything. Kirihara sat on the sofa, Yanagi joining him a second later with a white box. Marui and Jackal leaned against the wall, watching as Yanagi began to pull the thumb tacks out. There were six in his hand and several others had punctured the skin but fallen out.

"Marui, how are you sure it wasn't Niou?" Sanada asked. "It is April Fool's Day after all."

"He just wouldn't," Marui said. "He put rubber spiders on Akira's desk. He hit you guys with silly string attached to helicopters. He doesn't try to hurt people. Just make them mad. I mean, the marbles were just for fun. If he wanted to hurt us, he would have used a lot more."

"That makes sense," Yukimura reasoned. Sanada nodded in agreement, even though every fiber in his body was screaming for him to kill Niou. "Akaya, do you have any idea who could have done this?"

Kirihara felt his shoulders relax when Yanagi pulled out the last thumb tack. He had a pretty good idea who it was – Hayashi's friends, the ones that thought he's only on the team because the regulars were sleeping with him.

Kirihara shrugged. "I don't know. A lot people of in the club don't like me 'cause I'm a second year regular and all. They think it's unfair to the other third years to have me on the team."

Yanagi rummaged through the first aid kit, making a small noise. "Yes, Akaya, we all know most of the third years don't particularly care for you, but is there anyone in specific?"

"No," he lied. Yanagi looked at him. He repeated himself. "_No."_

"Alright." Yukimura sighed, running a hand through his hair. He pulled out another strand of silly string. Koga was going to die of laughter when she found out. "If anything else happens, you need to tell us. We can't have you playing in a tournament with an injured hand."

Kirihara nodded. "Okay."

.

Niou and Yagyuu slipped out the back entrance to the school with the helicopters. No one saw them leave. If no one saw them, no one could prove it was them. They had gotten away with it.

"Here's your helicopter," Yagyuu said. "I must admit, that was fun."

"Keep it and give it to Naomi. I'll give Kenji mine," Niou said. "And of course it was fun. The point is that it's fun."

"Are you sure?" Yagyuu asked. "Naomi prefers dolls. Besides, our apartment isn't big enough to use this. And isn't this a prototype? I can't possibly take it."

"Take her to the park one day or something," Niou said, shrugging. "It's being released this summer, and it's not a secret or anything."

Yagyuu nodded, holding the toy at his side. His thank-you was unspoken, but understood. "I find it very amusing that you still test run your father's products."

Niou flicked the buttons on his remote, his helicopter flying behind them. He grinned. "I'm a kid at heart."

.

Niou met up with Sato at a café after parting ways with Yagyuu. She was sitting at a table with a plate of cookies, typing an essay on her laptop. She glanced up at him, said a quick, "Hello," and then looked back at the screen.

He sat across from her, setting his bag on the table and sliding her plate closer to him. He picked up a chocolate chip cookie. "You like cookies? Didn't see you as a sweets person."

"I didn't see you as someone who's intelligent." She closed her laptop and folded her arms on top of it. "Why are you smiling?"

"Today's April first."

"The marbles?"

"The marbles," he confirmed. He took a big bite out of his cookie, which he chewed quickly and swallowed. "The fake spiders were pretty amusing, too. There was also the helicopters and silly string, which was by far the best."

"Helicopter?"

"Yeah, helicopter. One of the new toys my dad's company made."

"I thought your dad made software," Sato said. "Or is the company named Niou Software to confuse people? If that's the case, I don't see the logic in that."

"We make a lot of things." Niou reached into his bag, pulling out the remote and the helicopter. He set the toy on the table, switching it on. "Usually we just do gaming chips and sell them to other companies, but now we do our own toys. Nothing big, just robots and stuff. Anything that needs a circuit board we can make."

"I see." She reached across the table, grabbed a gingersnap, and watched as he lifted the toy off the table. It flew around their heads, and then to another table. "We're going to get in trouble."

"Spade, I'm a spy. Danger is my middle name."

"No one mentioned danger."

"It comes with the job of being a secret agent. Get with the program."

He flew the helicopter around the shop, keeping the remote under the table so he wouldn't be seen. He landed it on tables, flew it to the counter, and had it dive bomb a boy who was looking at Sato. She watched him with an amused smile for a minute or two, and then reopened her laptop to finish her essay.

They were kicked out ten minutes later.

* * *

**A/N: Ah, Niou.**


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49.**

Yukimura left class five minutes early to get to the locker room before afternoon practice started. He pulled a pack of sticky notes out of his bag, putting them on lockers throughout the room. He put on one each of the regulars' lockers, including his own. He had just finished when a group of boys came in.

Yukimura slipped the sticky notes back into his bag and began to change. His phone buzzed as he was slipping on his shorts. He dug through his bag, quickly spending a response to Koga, saying that he would stop by Silly Lilies after practice was over.

"So we're doing the serving drill today?" Yanagi questioned, pulling the sticky note off his locker. "I thought we weren't doing that until next week."

"We're doing it today and next week," Yukimura said. "Everyone who is in the rotation was here during morning practice so I figured we might as well. It's a good drill."

"It is," Yanagi agreed.

Yukimura closed his locker. "I'm going to run."

Yanagi nodded. Yukimura left the locker room.

.

Yukimura ran until the last person was done their laps. He stopped counting once he hit fifty laps. No one said anything, but he was hardly sweating. Members wondered if something like running one hundred laps that simple for him. The first year who could barely finish his certainly thought that.

After everyone had finished their warm-up laps, Yukimura blew his whistle and ordered everyone to gather by the courts. The regulars stood behind him, looking at the rest of the members.

"We have a little more than a month until Kanto Regionals," Yukimura said, his voice carrying to the bleachers where several scouts were sitting. "We're doing a new drill today in order to improve the stamina and concentration of those we believe will be participating in the tournament. If you found a sticky-note on your locker, step forward."

Urayama, Oyama, Hayashi, and several third and second year boys stepped forward. The regulars walked past Yukimura to join the little group.

"We're doing a serving drill today," Yukimura explained."Members who did not receive a sticky note will be serving. Members who found a sticky note will be receiving three consecutive serves. Regulars will be receiving five. Renji, Genchirou and I will be receiving ten. For every serve you miss, you will run five laps, which you will run immediately. The other members will continue to serve until you return."

There was a collective groan.

"Any questions?" Yukimura asked; he didn't give anyone time to answer. "Good. Now go to a court."

The boys headed to the courts, some with shaking knees, others with determined eyes. Marui was the first to start – five second years were standing on the opposite side of the net. "Well, you gonna hit the ball or not?" Marui taunted.

Kirihara didn't even notice the fact that the five people standing across from him were third years he had beaten in the regular-challenges back in February. Two of them served at the same time, and Kirihara dove for the balls.

"Hey!" he shouted. "You're supposed to do it different times, not at the same time!"

The third years didn't listen, three of them serving at the same time. Kirihara ran after the balls anyway. If they wanted to make a fool of him, he would turn the tables and prove that he could do it. He wasn't the incompetent idiot everyone thought he was.

Again and again they hit balls at him. One boy even had the guts to aim at him, but Kirihara stepped to the side and returned it smoothly. On the court beside him, he heard someone swear and drop their racquet as they headed off to run their laps.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yukimura easily returning serve after serve. He had even ordered them to hit three consecutively. Why was it so easy for him, but Kirihara felt like he was being torn into pieces by running back and forth? What made them so different? Kirihara worked his ass off. Yukimura sat on his hill with Koga.

He lost his concentration in his rage.

"Run five laps," one of the boys said.

Kirihara slammed his racquet into the ground, heading to join the others who were running. None of the other regulars were running. Even Marui, who was supposed to be good at net play, had complete control over the baseline. When did he learn to play defense? When did Niou master his footwork? When did Kirihara fall so far behind all of them?

.

When Yukimura blew his whistle to end the exercise, everyone who had been receiving the serves collapsed, even Kirihara. The only ones still standing were Jackal, Yagyuu, Sanada, Yanagi and Yukimura. Kirihara looked over at Urayama, who had curled into a ball and begun coughing hysterically. Oyama forced himself to his feet and rushed over to help his partner.

"First years, get the balls. Second years, the nets. Third years, change. Anyone who was receiving serves is to go to the locker room. If you feel any discomfort in your wrist, get a hot-cold wrap from Genchirou."

Kirihara wondered how Yukimura could still talk. He felt like his lungs were on fire. He stumbled to his feet, only to have a third year bump into him and knock him back down.

"Sorry, didn't see you," they said. Kirihara might have been channeling Niou or something, because he could have sworn that guy's voice wavered like he was lying.

"Can't keep up with them, huh? Why do you even try?" another boy asked.

"Do you seriously think someone like you can beat them? Everyone else in the club is fine with just doing what we're told. We all think you're stupid. I bet the regulars think so, too."

"How's your hand? Those thumb tacks looked painful."

"You're only here for when the regulars need a puppet, or a quickie."

"You're just a second year. Don't be so cocky."

"You're _weak_."

Kirihara didn't know whether he was thinking that, or if people were telling him. It didn't matter. He forced his legs not to give out when he stood up, and headed for the locker room.

.

Yukimura sat at his desk in the captain's office after changing, jotting down notes on how people had performed during practice as Yanagi talked to Sanada about something or another. Then Yanagi said something that got Yukimura's full attention.

"I'm worried about Akaya."

"Why?" Yukimura and Sanada asked in unison.

"I believe the other members are harassing him," Yanagi said. "It wouldn't be the first time. When he joined the regulars in junior high, all of his racquet strings were cut. Last year, when he gained a spot on the team, he lost his uniform several times."

"You're talking about the thumb tacks?" Yukimura asked.

Yanagi nodded, and then shook his head. "Yes, the thumb tacks. But also during practice. His servers weren't following instructions. They were all serving at the same time when practice ended."

"I didn't see him running," Sanada mentioned. "Renji, are you saying he can handle playing with five balls?"

"He can return five serves. I don't know about playing," Yanagi said. "This is something we have to address. It's our responsibility –"

"He hasn't said anything," Yukimura cut in. "Obviously he thinks he can handle it himself. We all have our forms of pride, Renji. If he wants to take care of it himself, I say let him. I'll only interfere if things get out of hand. Now, I need to go because Koga-chan is expecting me."

"Seiichi, you really don't want to do anything?" Sanada asked.

"Don't judge me, Genchirou. If he takes pride in taking care of himself then I'm not going to stop him," Yukimura said. He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I'll be going. I'll talk to you both tomorrow."

.

Yukimura sat behind the counter at Silly Lilies as Koga worked. Yukimura was so focused that he didn't even realize the customer had left the store, and that she was sitting in front of him. She poked his forehead, tilting her head to the side.

"Yukimura, are you alright?" she asked. "You usually jump up when a customer is here to see if you can scare them."

"I'm fine," he said. "Just some business with a kouhai on the team has got my head all jumbled."

She hummed, brushing a strand of hair that had come out of her ponytail away from her face. "Is your head sorted enough for me to tell you that my family wants to meet you?"

"Really?" He thought about it for a moment. Did that make them serious? It had been about a month and a half since they started dating. It seemed like just yesterday. "I guess I should. You should probably meet my sister and father. Formally, I mean. They've been asking about you."

She smiled. "I'll tell my parents and we can set up a date or something. Are we still doing ice-cream this Saturday? I need to take off of work if we are."

"Koga-chan, why didn't you ask about my mother?"

She shrugged one shoulder, hair falling out from behind her ear. She sighed. "Hang on." She undid her ponytail, pulling all of her hair back. After snapping the tie into place, she focused her attention on him. "Well, after Valentine's Day, I asked Hara-san – you know, my boss? – how she knew you because she knew your name even though I've never mentioned you. She told me about your mom and how you buy her pink tulips from time to time. I don't know any details, and I figured you would tell me when you wanted to."

"I see."

Koga continued to stammer on like she wasn't able to stop. "If I could, I'd like to meet her, too. I mean, it's still early and we haven't been seeing each other all that long, but maybe one day?"

Yukimura blinked a few times. Out of all the girls he dated, only two were serious, and both just hugged him and apologized when he told them about his mother. Yukimura didn't know what type of a person would be kind enough to look a stone with his mother's name. The Koga-type.

Her ears were flaming. "Did I say something stupid again?"

"No, you didn't." Yukimura smiled softly. "We can go one day."

The bells chimed before she could say anything else. She flashed him a brilliant smile before she stood up. She stumbled, causing her hip to hit the counter. She swore softly. Yukimura's lips were pressed together in a smile when the customer asked, "Did you say something?"

* * *

**A/N: First of all, happy new year!  
**

**Second of all, my lovely beta xxTemarixx wrote me a birthday fic. It's called _Seventeen Plots,_ and it has some accurate background on Urayama and Oyama that I haven't gotten to yet. (The coma thing didn't happen. That was just Temari being Temari because she loves clichés as much as I do.) So if you like them as friends and want something fluffy to read, check it out.**


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50.**

"Buchou, play me."

Yukimura stared at Kirihara. Right after laps, the second year had stormed over and demanded a match. Yanagi and Sanada, who were sitting besides Yukimura, also seemed slightly surprised. It had been quite some time since Kirihara challenged any of them. In fact, he hadn't done so in over a year.

"Why don't you play Renji?" Yukimura suggested. "You haven't played him in awhile."

"I don't want to play Yanagi-senpai."

"Then how about Genchirou?" Yukimura asked. His smile was sweet, like he honestly thought Kirihara would have fun playing his friends. Kirihara knew the real reason. Yukimura didn't think Kirihara stood a chance.

"I don't want to play Sanada-fukubuchou."

"You want to play me?"

"Yes."

"Is this about what the other members are saying to you?" Yukimura asked. "If it is, I can step in and get them to stop."

"No, it isn't," Kirihara said. "I just want to play a set with you, Buchou."

Yukimura was silent for a moment as he studied the second year. Suddenly, he stood up and walked right past Kirihara. "Alright, then. Get to a court."

Kirihara followed, swinging his racquet over his shoulder. People parted as their captain walked onto the courts. Members headed into the bleachers without being told to do so. The regulars sat at the benches by the court their captain and kohai had walked onto. Sanada got up into the referee chair, watching as Yukimura took a racquet from a first year.

"Buchou, you might want to use your own racquet," Kirihara said. "You always tell us that it's unwise to use someone else's racquet."

"I'll be fine." Yukimura smiled politely. Kirihara put the tip of his racquet on the court to spin it, but Yukimura said, "You can serve first, Akaya."

Kirihara headed back to the baseline.

"Kirihara versus Yukimura! One set match, Kirihara to serve," Sanada called.

His eyes went bloodshot as his fingers tightened around the ball. He knew he wasn't supposed to let the rage take over, that he was supposed to beat an opponent without that extra adrenaline running through his veins. Yet, Yukimura made him mad. Yukimura treated everyone like they were nothing. Kirihara couldn't control that rage, even if his life depended on it.

"Akaya, are you sure you want to do this?" Yukimura asked.

Kirihara didn't respond. He served.

.

His eyesight went after the first game. Colors danced behind his eyes – the light was obviously there, but he couldn't process it. Then the collage of colors disappeared completely, leaving total blackness. His other senses took over, having been amplified from the lost of his sight. He could still play.

"Game, Yukimura! One game to love! Yukimura to serve."

His hearing went after the second game. He could no longer hear Yukimura asking if he wanted to stop. It was dead silence. He could feel his heart hammer against his chest, but he couldn't hear it. It was like he was a zombie. He could still serve.

His sense of taste went after the third game. His mouth was sticky, like someone had shoved honey and cotton against his cheeks. He could barely think straight, but he still knew where the ball was. After years of watching that monster – that demigod – he knew where the ball was going to go. He could still fight.

His sense of smell went after the fourth game. The familiar scent of grass and mud and sweat left him. He couldn't smell his new grip tape. He rolled a ball in his hand, knowing he had to serve. He didn't know how far back the service line was. He walked forward, touched the net, and then turned around. From years of being on a court, he knew how many steps it took. He couldn't even smell Yukimura's fruity shampoo that would have let him know that his captain had been at the net, saying that he should quit. He could still be thankful for the hearing loss.

His nerves went after the fifth game. He collapsed against the court, not sure if he was on his stomach, his side, his back, or his head. He reached down and touched his legs – at least, he thought they were his legs. He couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel his heart beating. He was still alive, yet he was dead at the same time. He couldn't do anything.

"Game, Yukimura! Five games to love! Yukimura to serve."

Yukimura refused to go to the baseline. "Genchirou, this is over. He's done." Sanada called off something, and then jumped down from the chair. He glanced at Kirihara, as if wondering if he should help – they had never helped before, but it had never been this bad before – and then back at Yukimura. "Don't help him. He'll get his head back in ten minutes."

Sanada nodded. It was to make him strong. At least, that's what he told himself.

Yukimura looked over at the bench the regulars were sitting at. "Niou, Marui, Jackal – move him to the locker room and ice down his head."

"His head?" Jackal muttered. When he looked back at the courts, he saw Kirihara on his hands and knees, his body shaking. He opened his mouth, like he was screaming, but no words came out. Jackal could imagine what it sounded like – rage beyond belief. Then his knees gave out, his head making contact with the courts.

Niou, Marui, and Jackal rushed over. Marui and Jackal grabbed Kirihara's arms, helping him to his feet. Niou looked over at the members in the bleachers. They were terrified, staring at Kirihara and refusing to look at their captain. Every member was thinking the same thing – that man was a monster.

.

His senses came back in reverse – first it was his voice, then his sense of touch, then smell, then taste, then hearing, and finally, sight. He didn't sit up from the bench he was lying on. He just stared up at the roof of the locker room. He could feel an ice pack on his head, and he barely could see Niou, Marui and Jackal going through a first aid kit at the end of the bench.

"You nauseous?" Marui asked. He was holding a bottle of pills. Kirihara didn't answer. "I asked if you're nauseous."

"I'm fine. How bad was it?" Kirihara pushed himself up into a sitting position, the ice pack falling onto his lap. Marui was pale, like he had just seen a ghost. Niou was leaning against a set of lockers, looking up at the ceiling rather than Kirihara. Jackal was still going through the first aid kit in search of something. Kirihara felt his blood boil. "I said, how bad was it?"

"You lost control of your muscles," Niou said. He was still looking at the ceiling. "You can't beat them. They're born geniuses. Three once-a-century prodigies born at the same time. You're an average guy, just like us. It's impossible."

"Other people have beaten them," Kirihara said bitterly. "Yanagi-senpai lost to Inui. Sanada-fukubuchou and Yukimura-buchou lost to Echizen. Atobe can play against them. That Shirashi guy can, too."

"Akaya, those guys... they're not exactly normal either," Jackal said. "Even though Inui can't be considered a genius, he still has a body that's made for sports. He can increase his muscle mass easily. He has insane reflexes, too. It's biological. You can't beat genetics with hard work alone."

"Then what's a person supposed to do when they're up against monsters?" Kirihara asked. "Give up?"

"Yeah," Niou said, finally looking at Kirihara, "you give up. Work to be the best of the mediocre. We're no match them, no matter how hard we try. We thought an idiot like you would have learned that by now."

"You're being way too harsh, Niou," Jackal said.

"What? Are we supposed to baby him like we used to?" Marui asked. He looked at Kirihara, putting on a fake smile. "Akaya, do you want to go the arcade? We can lie and say that you'll get 'em next time, even though that's bull. Let's go get ice-cream and think of new moves that those three can already do. Let's go pretend that we're just like them. Let's pretend that they can consider us warm-up games."

"Bunta –"

"Jackal, he needs to understand!" Marui practically shouted. "I can't watch him get beaten to a pulp anymore! For five years we've watched those three pummel him. Akaya, we're _nothing_ compared to them! No one can beat them. It's pointless to try."

Jackal was silent for a moment. He swallowed so hard, Kirihara could see his throat move. "Akaya, don't challenge him anymore. This seriously isn't healthy for you."

"Give up," Marui said.

Niou looked back up at the ceiling.

Kirihara clenched his fists into his shorts. That was easy for them to say. Jackal was the best at stamina. Marui was the genius amongst the average. Niou was the best at psychology and trickery. Kirihara was never the best at anything. Never the strongest, never the fastest, never the smartest. He was never anything special.

Why did that have to mean that he couldn't stand with those three, beat them, and be called their equal?

"I'm going home." Kirihara got up and gathered his things in his locker. He swung his school bag over his shoulder, not even bothering to change into his uniform. He walked right by the three, none of them telling him to stop. He slammed the door on his way out.

"He needs to know," Marui whispered. He pressed his palms to his forehead. "He needs to accept reality."

"He won't," Niou said. He was smiling. It wasn't his Trickster smile, or Yagyuu's smile, or that other one he did in awkward situations, or the one he had when he pulled off a prank. It was Niou Masaharu's smile. "This world would be boring if people accepted reality."

"Then why have we?" Jackal asked.

"Because," Marui answered simply.

The three headed back out to practice a few minutes later. Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi were on the hill, acting as though nothing had happened.

.

Kirihara went straight to his apartment, slamming his bedroom door shut behind him and tossing his bag onto his bed. For five years he's chased those three, and someone finally tells him that it's pointless. He hated his senpai sometimes. For years they treated him like a baby. Now, they don't even bother to talk to him, yet they still have the audacity to tell him that he isn't good enough.

He needed to yell until his throat went numb, but he knew that wouldn't make anything better. He drove his fist into the wall, staring at the small indentation it made. It was like the wall was laughing at him, like he couldn't punch through it, like he wasn't strong enough, motivated enough, good enough.

He didn't want to accept that he wasn't good enough. He wouldn't accept that. He couldn't accept that.

He walked over to his bed and began to dig through his bag. He pulled out his phone, dialing a number, wondering how he could make the words in his head come out of his mouth in the right order.

"You've reached the Department of Awesome. Tachibana An speaking."

"It's me."

There was a slight hesitation before An said, "Akaya, you okay? I haven't talked to you since New Year's Eve when you hung up on me. What's up?"

"I'm fine," he reassured her. He didn't even have time to be happy that she cared. "I need a favor, though. A gi-freaking-gantic favor."

"What's this gi-freaking-gantic favor?"

"I need to learn a new move – something, anything – that will help me beat those guys. I can't ask anyone else. The guys at the street courts aren't good enough. My senpai will try to get me to accept that I can't beat them. You can play tennis. I mean, girl tennis, but tennis. You can help."

"Girl tennis? _Riiight._ Would you like an order of sexist fries with that? We have a jumbo douche bag shake, now in chocolate."

"An, that's not what I meant. Why'd you have to say that?" Kirihara sat on his bed, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Akaya, what the hell is going on?" There was a hint of utter panic in her voice. The only other time she heard him sigh like that was over a year ago when they broke up – no, when she dumped him. "What happened?"

"My captain pulverized me in front of the entire team. Took away my muscle control. My taste. _Everything_. He made a fool out of me without a second thought." He fell onto his back and closed his eyes, sighing again. He could feel his anger melting away; it was replaced by a feeling of incompetence. "I'm sick of being their puppet. The only reason I'm on the team is in case one of them gets sick and they need a reserve. They only let me play in the last tournament because it's kind of a joke to us. I'm a joke to them. I'm a joke to everyone."

Kirihara knew that An of all people would understand. She was "Tachibana's little sister." She grew up under his shadow, driving herself to be more than that. She had yet to get rid of that title, but she kept trying.

"Alright," she said. There was a firmness in her voice that made Kirihara remember the times they stayed on the courts of hours, screaming and laughing until the last point was called. "Any idea what kind of move you want to learn? 'Something' and 'anything' are pretty vague."

"I obviously wouldn't be talking to a girl about tennis if I knew what kind of a move I wanted to do."

"Bite me."

"I think I'd rather have a bite of those sexist fries you mentioned earlier," Kirihara said offhandedly. "Do they come with conceited ketchup?"

"Yes, and we have pompous pepper. You can ask for extra you-suck salt, but it's going to cost you a testicle," she said. "Weren't you calling about how your captain made you cry like a baby? Let's get back to that topic, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall," he said. She laughed, and he felt like he was doing something wrong. She had a boyfriend. She was his ex. He didn't care. "So tennis."

"Do you need me to spell it out?"

"I'm being serious, An."

"T-E-N-N –"

"Can you stop being sarcastic for five seconds?" Kirihara asked. When she didn't reply, he rolled his eyes. "_Thank you_. Now, I was thinking about a smash or something."

"Why are you so dead set on learning a move?" she asked curiously. "I mean, maybe there just isn't another move to learn. Sometimes, all you can do is grit your teeth, put on your big girl panties, and perfect the basics. Suck it up, Buttercup. 'It' being your nonexistent man pride."

"You totally want to do basics so we can get all hot and bothered together while we stretch."

"In your dreams. In said dreams, you would probably come up with ideas as awesome as mine."

When Kirihara thought about it, it did seem like a good idea. The only thing left to do was to push his body to the limit –_ over_ the limit – to make up for his genetics. It was so simple. It was so complicated.

"I get what you mean," he said. "But you wouldn't need to help. I'd just be going to the gym."

"That's up to you. Text me with the dets if you ever want me to tag along. I gotta run."

She hung up before he could say anything else. Kirihara stared at his phone, unsure of what to think of that. He could barely get over the fact that she still said "dets" instead of "details." She was so weird.

He decided he would text her later.

He didn't care if he had to run six hours uphill every day. He would beat them. He had to beat them. He refused to lose to the "gods" of the courts.

* * *

**A/N: I had a hard time choosing what personality to give An. I ended up with... that. Still not sure what to call it exactly.**

**And here's the really long A/N that most of you will skip.**

**It's 1/11/12. It's been one year since I started this fic. I never thought this story would be this long let alone have this many characters. Honestly, I can't thank you all enough for the support and feedback. It really means a lot to me that you guys take the time to tell me what you think chapter after chapter. So thank you :)  
**


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51.**

At the sound of the final bell, Miyagi told Tanaka and Kirihara that he would be in the library while they finished up their club stuff. Tanaka announcing that she didn't have rehearsal wasn't a surprise – the drama club didn't rehearse things to death. However, Kirihara's announcement that he wasn't going to afternoon practice was a surprise. In fact, it was such a big surprise that Tanaka pinched Miyagi, and Miyagi's jaw dropped.

"I'm serious," Kirihara insisted. "Don't look like I just kicked you in the kidney."

"Okay, hang on," Tanaka said, looking at him with disbelief. "Why are you skipping again? I get not going yesterday because you got your ass kicked the day before and all. Really, I get that. Male pride. Adrenaline. Penises. Manly man crap that makes me think you are a different species."

"Miho, walk out of the classroom as you talk," Miyagi cut in.

Tanaka grabbed her bag and began to walk out of the classroom, continuing to talk. "But why are you still being stubborn? One day is excusable by man crap. Two days and I call wimp."

"I'm not going back until later this week. I'm going to jog later tonight, maybe stop by the street courts, but I'm not going to practice. I don't need them yelling at me to sit down and watch first years. I need to work on the basics, just like An said."

"Whoa. Hold up." Miyagi grabbed the back of Kirihara's shirt, pulling him to a stop in the middle of the hall. "_An_. As in Tachibana An? As in that girl who broke up with you a week after you told her you loved her?"

Miyagi's grip loosened, so Kirihara continued to walk, his cheeks flushed. Tanaka rushed up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso, holding him in place.

"No you don't. Put on the big boy balls and tell me," she said. When he began to wiggle, she squeezed tighter. "Dish. Now."

"Let me go," Kirihara said. When she shook her head, he sighed. "Satoshi, make her let go."

"No way," Miyagi said with a huge amused grin that disappeared as he continued. "What's up with you talking to Tachibana, and not telling us? The girl crushed you, Akaya. What the freak happened after your captain whooped your ass into next week?"

"I called her, that's it," Kirihara said. Tanaka squeezed tighter. "Miho, please let go." Miyagi poked his cheek. "Let me go!"

Everyone in the hall turned to look at them. Tanaka let go, lips pursed in the corner. Miyagi rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm being serious," Kirihara said as people began to ignore them again. "All we did was talk. She said that maybe we could hang out at some point or another at the gym. That's it. Can we please just go before they realize I'm skipping again?"

Tanaka nodded, mumbling an apology under her breath. Kirihara heard her, and nodded in return.

.

They went to Miyagi's apartment, and headed straight for the kitchen. Tanaka laughed at Miyagi for having juice boxes, but she shut up when Kirihara reminded her that she had a Capri Sun with her lunch. After making a batch of popcorn in the microwave, they headed into the living room, where they set up camp. Kirihara sat on the sofa with Tanaka, who was hogging the popcorn, and Miyagi sat in the chair because sitting on the sofa would have meant being right up against Tanaka.

"Anything on TV this time of daysat ? I'm not used to being home this early," Kirihara said.

"You're not home, genius. This is my apartment," Miyagi pointed out.

Kirihara rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant. You don't have to be a smart ass just because I'm stupid."

"But you're stupid in a fun way," Tanaka said, tossing a piece of popcorn at him. "Let's watch _Aladdin_. I love that movie. No, wait, put in _Tangled_. I never saw that one."

"You're seventeen years old, and you want to watch a Disney movie?" Miyagi asked. Tanaka nodded. "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?"

Knowing where Miyagi was going, Kirihara said, "You're going to look like an idiot."

Miyagi never cared about acting like an idiot.

"If you're hungry for a hunk of far and juicy meat, eat my buddy, Pumba, here because he is a treat," Miyagi sang, completely off key. "Come on down and dine on this tasty swine. All you gotta do is get in liiine. Are ya achin' –"

"Yup, yup, yup," Tanaka sang, laughing.

"For some bacon?"

"Yup, yup, yup!"

"He's a big pig."

"Yup, yup."

"You can be a big pig, too!" Miyagi finished, tossing his hands into the air. Tanaka rolled onto her side and laughed, and Kirihara put down the bowl of popcorn down before it spilled because of his fit of laughter. Miyagi was going to say something about how _The Lion King_ is a serious piece of art, but he too was laughing too hard.

.

Tanaka and Kirihara teased Miyagi for actually owning a copy of _Tangled_ even though he claimed it was his sister's. They knew he was lying. He didn't have a sister. Tanaka and Kirihara snuggled under a blanket, occasionally getting hit by pieces of popcorn that Miyagi was throwing. A teenage boy and girl probably shouldn't be as close as Kirihara and Tanaka were, but they didn't care. As far as they were considered, they were siblings.

"I love that horse!" Tanaka exclaimed during the movie. "I'm totally buying a horse and training it to be that beastly."

"Just wait, it gets better," Miyagi said. Tanaka and Kirihara looked at him. He turned red. "At least, that's what I've heard..."

"I love that you love Disney," Tanaka said. "It's manly."

"Shut up and watch the movie. Rapunzel is about to go bipolar on us."

.

"We need more popcorn," Miyagi said, turning the empty bowl upside-down to prove his point. Tanaka shrugged. Kirihara pretended not to hear him. Miyagi sighed and stood up. "Pause it. I'll be back in a minute."

Tanaka grabbed the remote and paused the movie. She bit her lip until Miyagi was out of the room, and then turned to Kirihara. "Why do you still like Tachibana?"

"Who said I still like An?"

"Because I'm a girl and I know these things," Tanaka said bluntly. Kirihara rolled his eyes. "Listen, Akaya, just tell me. I'm a girl. I need to hear these things. If not, I'll just speculate, and I'll feel like a creeper. Plus I'll ask if you like her every time you mention her."

"Can I ask you a question, Miho?"

"No, you can't." Then she grinned and said, "Yeah. Ask away."

"Do you realize how annoying you are?"

Tanaka stuck her tongue out at him, tossed their blanket over his head, and unpaused the movie. From the kitchen, Miyagi shouted a rather vulgar protest. Tanaka shouted back, "Only you would swear because you missed part of a Disney movie!"

Kirhara tugged the blanket off of his head as Tanaka repaused the movie. "Miho, this is kinda random, but what did your boyfriend say about you kissing that guy in the play? You never told me."

"He's cool with it." Then she contradicted herself by saying, "Well, I told him that I'm doing it whether he likes it or not. He gets that I like acting, but he still gets a little ticked at it. We just scream it out until we're over it. Things'll be a lot better once it's done and over with. The guy I'm kissing has a girlfriend, so it's a mutual dislike kinda thing."

Just then, Miyagi came back in, singing I Just Can't Wait To Be King. Kirihara wondered how in the world he became friends with that Disney-challenged fool. A wave of depression hit Kirihara when he realized that same fool was probably one of the top twenty students in the grade.

.

After the movie was over, the three headed into Miyagi's bedroom to get study for an upcoming test. However, Tanaka and Miyagi were still hyped up on Disney-LSD, and were dancing like cracked out hippos from Fantasia as they sang A Whole New World.

"Will you two cut it out already?" Kirihara asked from his spot on the floor. "Satoshi, I get it, you're smart and you don't need to study. Miho, you're in the same boat as me – we're dumb."

"Hey, my grades are better than yours," Tanaka replied. She sat down next to him, glanced at the math book he was looking at, and then stood back up. "Yeah, no way in hell I'm not doing that. I'll fail instead."

Kirihara groaned. He hated that Yukimura checked on his grades. He wasn't the dumbest person, but he wasn't the smartest. No one else on the regulars had to be threatened with team suspension for their grades.

"I should probably get going anyways," Tanaka added. "My mom's been wanting to try this new recipe that looks really gross, and I think she finally realized I'm spending so much time with you guys to avoid eating it. So I gotta go home for dinner. Wish me luck. If I'm not a school tomorrow, I'm dead, or dying, or undead. If I am undead, please dispose of my zombie-ness properly."

"Head-shot?" Miyagi asked with a grin. How often did you get to say head-shot and not sound like a psychopath? Not often. It was a rare moment to enjoy, he decided.

Tanaka nodded, grabbed her bag, and left minute later. Miyagi left to make sure the apartment door was locked after she had left, but returned as quickly as he had gone. He sat on the floor in front of Kirihara, who had begun to text An in his short absence.

"Why didn't you tell me you started texting her?" Miyagi asked. "I forgive you for not telling me about the talking because no one talks on phones anymore. Can't be that long of conversations. Chit-chat. Whatever. But texting? _Really?_"

Kirihara looked up from his phone. "Didn't think it was important. Have you grown a vagina? 'Cause you're acting like Miho."

"I'm not trying to be all gay, I'm just asking," Miyagi replied in his defense. "Excuse me for carrying."

The two boys had always been close, but it was still strange asking each other personal questions. It was a guy thing. With Tanaka, it was different. With just the two of them, it was weird. Still, there were times when it was acceptable. Crushes was one topic the two could pry over.

"I'm still friends with her on facebook," Miyagi said casually.

Kirihara looked back at his phone. "So? I am too."

"She's still cute in that doesn't-need-make-up way."

"I haven't looked."

It was true. He was friends with her, but he skimmed over her posts and never gave her picture that much attention. He hadn't really seen her since last year's tournament when they awkwardly bumped into each other – she had been attending Seigaku for her first year of high school while Fudomine High was being built; she transferred back along with the rest of the old Fudomine gang once it was finished. They hadn't even talked when they bumped into each other. It was too damn awkward.

Miyagi got the idea when Kirihara set his phone down and went back to work – he really didn't want to talk about An. Miyagi got that. He didn't like talking about Tanaka lately either. She was kissing some random guy in a play, had a boyfriend, yet Miyagi was in the friend-zone. No, he was in the like-a-brother-zone. He was eternally out of her grasp. It sucked, plain and simple. He figured Kirihara felt the same way since An had a boyfriend.

Miyagi crawled onto his bed, hummed some Disney tunes until Kirihara tossed something at him, and worked on his homework.

* * *

**A/N: The next two chapters also focus on this little trio.  
**

**I didn't say this in my note for the last chapter, but xxTemarixx is the most awesome beta ever and I should be thanking her more than anyone else for making this fic possible. Just sayin'.**


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52.**

Kirihara walked into the gym, bag slung over his shoulder and Miyagi walking behind him. Tanaka was spending the day with her boyfriend. Kirihara insisted on going to the gym, saying it was just something he needed to do, and Miyagi tagged along out of boredom. Kirihara didn't mention that An was meeting him there or that he was relieved Miyagi was coming in case things got awkward.

It had been months since he had seen the girl. They had dated for almost two years – third year of junior high and part of their first year of high school. She broke up with him. He still wished she hadn't some days. It had been a little over ten months since then. They had talked from time to time, but seeing her was a completely different thing.

The two boys changed in the locker room. Kirihara swore when he realized he had forgotten his shirt.

"Just practice in the one you were wearing on the way here," Miyagi said.

"No way. It'll get a sweaty and gross." Kirihara put his bag into his locker and closed it with his foot. "Whatever. The girls can stare."

Miyagi shot him a look. "I will give you a shirt. It's an insult to my man pride to be walking around a guy with a six pack when I have flab. Seriously, how do you get a six pack from tennis?"

Kirihara looked down at his stomach, and then back at his friend. "One, stop checking me out. Two, I have a horrible farmer's tan. Three, it's barely noticeable. Four, have you ever heard of crunches?"

"I'm joining the tennis team next year. I need to get rid of this," Miyagi said, poking his stomach, which wasn't anything near as bad as he made it out to be. With his other hand, he reached into his gym bag, pulling out a shirt. He tossed it at Kirihara. "Just wear a shirt and stop being a man whore."

Kirihara rolled his eyes, slipping the shirt over his head. "Whatever. I'm not washing it and all that courtesy crap that comes with borrowing clothes."

The two grabbed their water bottles, and then headed into the gym towards the equipment section. There were only a few people – a couple girls who were on the bikes and a few guys running. All of the meat headed idiots were in another room where the weight equipment was.

"I'm running," Kirihara said, walking over to a row of empty treadmills that were in front of a row of mirrors (because apparently people need to check themselves out when sweating their skin off). Miyagi followed, setting his water bottle next to the machine. Kirihara stood on the stationary part of the machine, setting the treadmill so it was at angle and would speed up automatically over time. Once the track started to move, he set his feet on it, slowly jogging.

"Err, what's a good pace for someone who gets winded walking up and down the stairs at school?"

"Walking speed. And don't mock the winded fools because you know damn well that I die walking up to the third floor."

Miyagi fiddled with the buttons, eventually setting the treadmill to a low speed. He walked while Kirihara jogged at an angle. Miyagi looked in the mirror instead of focusing on what he was doing. After ten minutes, he saw a familiar face.

"Dude, ex-girlfriend, something o'clock," Miyagi said.

Kirihara grabbed the bars of the treadmill, which was at a pace Miyagi didn't even want to think about running at, lifting him up. He set his feet down on the stationary part of the machine and turned his head. An was walking over, flipping the bird to a guy who whistled. It was her own fault, though. She was wearing tight shorts and a form-fitting sweatshirt, a gym bag hanging low on her back which only drew more attention to those shorts.

He didn't know what to expect to feel after not seeing her for so long. He didn't know how it happened, or why it happened, but his stomach did cliché things that weren't supposed to exist outside of movies and books. Damn it.

She stopped at the empty treadmill next to Kirihara, dropping her gym bag to the floor. "Hey, Akaya, long time no see."

"You grew out your hair," he said, amused. He always told her she'd look pretty with long hair. (She did.)

"You still use mousse," she said, equally amused. She always made fun of him for using hair products. She turned to Miyagi, who was still walking on his treadmill at a slow speed. "Miyagi, right?"

"Yeah. You're Tachibana," Miyagi said, stating the obvious.

An nodded, and stepped onto her treadmill. Kirihara practically jumped back onto his, causing An to smile as she set hers to a slow jog.

"I'm surprised your boyfriend didn't tag along," Kirihara said casually. "He does know you're here to see me, right?"

"Takeshi's in the weight room with Kaidoh and some other guys," she said. "And don't make it sound like it's a date, Akaya."

"That doesn't answer the question. He would never let you near me."

"Oh?" She gave him a look. "Cocky as ever, Akaya. Get your head out of your ass. I'm with Takeshi. You called and asked for a favor, and I needed to run. Duh."

"Don't 'duh' me."

"I'll duh you if I want to duh you."

"Go duh yourself."

An rolled her eyes, smiling. Kirihara grinned. Miyagi thought they were both insane.

.

After half an hour, Miyagi sat with his back to the mirrors, slowly drinking from his water. An had slowed to a walk, saying something about a cool-down. Kirihara was still jogging, sweat dripping down his face.

"Why are you so damn obsessed with working out all the sudden, Akaya?" Miyagi asked. "Don't you do enough with that satanic club you're in?"

An smiled at the club part – Rikkaidai was still known for its harsh leader, Yukimura Seiichi, and the harsher practices. Kirihara wasn't nearly as amused. "I gotta beat those guys."

Miyagi nodded once. "Right. Those guys."

Kirihara would have said something like, "yeah, those guys, the ones people call gods," but Miyagi wasn't paying attention. He dug into his pocket, pulling out his vibrating cell phone. "Hey, Miho, what's up? Aren't you with your – hey, why are you crying?"

Miyagi sat forward, nodding at whatever she was saying. "Yeah, we'll be right there. I promise. Just hang on, okay? Give us half an hour."

He hung up and pushed himself to his feet. Kirihara grabbed the bars again, setting his feet on the stationary part. "What's wrong?"

"Miho and her boyfriend are fighting, and it's bad this time. She wants us to come over," he said. "We gotta go. She's a mess. I could barely understand her."

Kirihara nodded and turned off his treadmill, not caring that stopping without a cool-down would cause his muscles to cramp up. He gave An a look – it was a mix of worry and hurt, emotions people generally didn't associate him with. "Sorry, An, but we need to go. It's our friend. You remember Miho, right?"

"Go ahead," she said, nodding to answer his question. "We'll meet up again?"

He smiled. "Duh."

An watched them jog away in the mirrors.

.

After changing, the two made a quick stop at a convenience store, and then headed to Tanaka's apartment. Her parents were working, but they had a spare key. Miyagi shifted the bags in his hands, managing to find his key ring and open the door. The two walked inside and slipped off their shoes.

"Miho?" Kirihara called. He moved the six-pack of bottled soda he was holding into his other hand.

She didn't reply, so the two walked through the small apartment towards her bedroom. She was sitting on her bed with dozens of tissues on the floor. She had her legs pulled into her chest, her forehead pressed against her knees.

"We brought cheetos and gummy bears," Miyagi said, hoisting the bags he was holding into the air.

"And grape soda," Kirihara said, lifting the bottles.

She raised her head, a goofy smile on her face, tears falling out of her eyes. "You guys – know me – so – well."

The two walked over, joining her on the bed, thankful there weren't any nasty snot tissues on it. Miyagi dumped out the contents of the bags, two family size bags of cheetos and several bags of gummy bears falling out. Kirihara wiggled the bottles out of the plastic that held them together, handing one to her.

"Thanks," she said as she unscrewed the soda. "Even though I'm pretty sure you guys just wanted cheetos."

"Obviously," they said in unison with identical grins.

.

They snacked for awhile, licking their orange fingers, never quite able to get all of the cheese off. Eventually, she stopped crying, but the sadness didn't leave her eyes. They tried to make her smile, to get her to stop looking like the world was going to end, but it was hard. When she was sad, she stayed sad.

"You wanna talk about it?" Miyagi asked, pressing two gummy bears together. "Or we can make a murder-mystery with the gummy bears that starts with these two making out? Your choice."

She pushed him gently. "We were just watching a movie, and there was this scene were the wife cheated on her husband. He made a joke about me kissing another guy in that play I'm in, and I got mad, saying something about him being insensitive because I was worried about it. We just started yelling about everything, and he brought you two up, and I just..."

She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It was my fault."

"You've fought before, you'll get over," Kirihara said before popping a gummy bear into his mouth. He had to admit that Tanaka had good taste when it came to comfort food.

"I guess," she mumbled, not sounding very convinced. She _had _fought with her boyfriend before, and they always got over it. But it was bad this time. She brought her hands up, beginning to separate her hair to braid it – she needed to keep her mind off of it or she would break down again. "Did I make you guys stop something important?"

"Akaya was trying to get into Tachibana's pants," Miyagi said.

Kirihara tossed a handful of gummies at him. "I was not!"

"You met up with her?" Tanaka asked, fingers working on her hair. "You two were a good couple. Really cute besides the whole she-hates-you-for-hurting-her-brother thing. And you got over that, leaving just the cute."

"You do not tell a guy he makes a cute couple with someone," Kirihara said. Was he blushing? Miyagi was grinning like Kirihara was blushing. Damn it. "And we were just running. She has a boyfriend. I'm not a sleaze ball."

Miyagi took a sip of his soda. "I saw you checking her out."

"I was not checking her out!" Kirihara practically shouted.

"Whatever you say, Akaya."

Tanaka laughed when Kirihara tossed a bottle of soda at Miyagi.

.

The three had completely finished one bag of cheetos when Tanaka's cell phone rang. She checked the number, her shoulders dropping. Her boyfriend.

"Should I pick it up?" she asked. Before the two could answer, she declined the call. She tossed her phone into the middle of the room, eyes casted downwards. "He's going to be mad. I just can't hear his voice right now. Not after he said, after I said –"

She pulled her legs into her chest, resting her forehead on her knees. She was exactly the same as she had been when they first showed up, sobbing and crying, unable to think straight.

"Miho," Kirihara muttered, gently rubbing her back, "come on. It's fine. You're not going to remember what you said tomorrow."

"But I meant what I said!" she hissed. "I said I hated him – and I meant it! For a moment, I wanted him to just disappear. I don't care if words are – forgotten. I remember how he looked at me – like – I wasn't even there!"

"Why can't you girls just forget these things?" Miyagi asked, trying to make her smile. She didn't. "Miho, I don't know what you want us to say. Tears are on our list of top ten things we dislike. They're right up there with the meteor that killed the dinosaurs."

"That's just you, Satoshi," she said. "You're the only guy who likes dinosaurs that much."

"Hate to be awkward here, but I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back," Kirihara said. He patted Tanaka on the back, whispered something Miyagi couldn't hear, and then got up.

When the door closed behind Kirihara, Miyagi took over and put his hand on her back, slowly rubbing circles. She turned her head, her cheek pressed against her knees.

"I look so lame, don't I?" she asked, forcing herself to smile.

"You look –" Miyagi stopped himself. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were wet. She kept sniffing, her nose running. "Okay, you look bad."

She gently leaned against him, his arm wrapping around her. "I don't know if we'll make up this time. I said I hated him. I didn't mean it. I don't hate him."

"Did he say that he hates you?"

She hesitated. "Yeah."

"You deserve better, Miho," he said. "Someone who doesn't make you cry. Someone who lets you run wild because we all know no one is ever going to be able to tie you down. Someone who wants to travel the world with you, see all those places you want to. Someone who likes your smile. Someone who cares. Maybe..."

Miyagi trailed off. Uncurling her legs, Tanaka sat up, moving away from his arm. She stared at him, her mouth open. She was still crying, but she had more control over herself. "Maybe _what?_"

"Maybe that someone could be me?"

"Wait, what?"

He looked down at his lap, grinning and shaking his head for a moment. He was going to regret saying it, but it was too late to turn back now. He mumbled four words so softly he wasn't even sure if he had said them: "I love you, Miho."

A strange silence fell between them. The two of them were never quiet. They were always laughing and joking, making comments about Kirihara's stupid, curly hair. It didn't feel right not talking or smiling to each other.

"I love _him_," she whispered. "Satoshi, I love him. I can't –"

"Can't love me, too?" he finished for her. She nodded slightly. "Yeah, I know."

Miyagi grinned stupidly and got up off the bed. His grin wasn't right. It wasn't fun. It was fake and forced and it broke her heart.

"Satoshi," she mumbled. "I'm sorry. I love you, just not like that. I've never thought of you like that. I'm so, so sorry..."

He gave her a don't-worry-about-it look, and left without another word.

Miyagi loved her? She couldn't wrap her head around it. For how long? How long had she teased him, maybe even flirted with him, completely oblivious to his feelings? She was a terrible person. She should have realized it. They should have been the cliché, the best friends falling in love, the kiss in the rain after the hero chases the girl. Only they hadn't been.

Tanaka stared at the door, the lingering smell of grape soda and cheetos making her feel stupid. Stupid for not realizing it. Stupid for thinking of him as a brother when he never thought of her as a sister. Stupid for falling in love with someone else. Stupid for not falling in love with Miyagi instead.

Kirihara opened the door, furrowing his brow when he didn't see Miyagi. Walking over to the bed, he asked, "Satoshi run out to the store to get more stuff?"

She didn't answer. Kirihara sat down next to her, asking what was wrong. She put her head on his shoulder, pressing her face into the fabric of his shirt. Her fingers fisted into the material and her eyes were screwed shut, tears blotting on his shirt.

"He told you, didn't he?" Kirihara asked. She nodded, her grip getting tighter and tighter with every passing second.

"He loves me. _Me._ Why me? Why not someone who can love him back?" she mumbled. Her heart was pounding too fast. She couldn't think straight. "Why did he have to say that? What the hell was I supposed to say? He – I – _damn it!"_

"Miho, please stop crying." He slid his arms around her a second later, pulling her close. "It's not your fault."

"Is this how it – feels? Not being able – to be with Tachibana – even though you still love her?" Her words were separated by her choked sobs. Kirihara didn't ask whether she was talking about her not being able to be with her boyfriend or Miyagi. It didn't matter. She was hurt, and he hated to see her cry because he knew how much pain she was in.

"Yeah, it feels exactly like this," he whispered. He didn't lie and say that he didn't love An, but he didn't say it either. "It hurts, it _still _hurts after all this time, and I don't think it'll get any better any time soon. I hate it when she says his name. I hate seeing her happy with someone else. I hate it all."

"I hate it, too," Tanaka gasped against his shirt. She wished people were right when they said kids didn't understand love. She wished they were right so it wouldn't hurt like this. "Akaya, I freakin' hate this."

She was breaking down, and all he could do was rest his head on top of hers as she cried for both of them.

* * *

**A/N: I would love feedback on this chapter. Just sayin'.**

**Also, I apologize for not responding to the reviews for last chapter. I always try to make an effort to give some sort of a response since you guys put in the time to give me one, but I've been busy. Even if I don't always respond, I really do appreciate the thought and comments because I do read them.  
**


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53.**

Kirihara spent the night at Tanaka's. Her father was never very happy when he or Miyagi spent the night, but when they agreed to sleep with the door open, he usually caved. Once Tanaka explained what was going on, her father understood and allowed Kirihara to spend the night.

Kirihara rolled onto his back, trying to get comfortable. His emergency overnight kit had a sleeping bag, which was probably the most uncomfortable thing in the world. Tanaka was sitting on her bed rebraiding her hair before going to bed.

"Akaya," she said, "I think someone is calling you."

Kirihara grabbed his phone off the floor. It was on silent, but the screen was blinking. He opened it, frowning when he saw An's name and number. He couldn't talk to her. He had basically admitted to still being in love with her to Tanaka. An was kind, even after they broke up. Sometimes he wished she was cruel so he could just forget about her. He let the call go to voice mail, not having the heart to decline it.

Tanaka was looking at him, her eyes puffy and tired. "Who was it? Your mom?"

"An." He had a million 'your mom' jokes in his mind, but didn't say any. Instead, he said, "I texted my mom and told her I'd be staying over earlier, remember?"

"Sorry, I forgot." She tied off her braid, and then set her hands into her lap. "Akaya, thank you. I know it's creepy being friends with a girl. We think differently and all, but I just couldn't trust any of my girl friends with this. You and Satoshi are –"

She stopped. _Like my brothers._

"It's fine, Miho," he promised. "You're more of a sister to me than my real sister."

"How's she doing?" Tanaka asked. "Still a bitch?"

It was obvious she was trying to get her mind off of everything because she knew that Kirihara and his sister didn't get along. Kirihara talked, ignoring his phone when it rang again.

.

Kirihara took a shower the following morning, thankful his overnight kit included a school uniform. They would have to run by his apartment to get his school and tennis bags, but it was close to the train station so it wouldn't take too long.

He sat at Tanaka's dining table while she got ready, her mother cooking and her father reading the paper.

"How is she doing?" her mother asked as she flipped a pancake. She was under the impression that Kirihara was half American because of his eye color, and never baked a traditional Japanese breakfast when he spent the night. His grandmother had been American, and he ended up with her eyes, but he liked the pancakes so he didn't say anything.

"Alright, I guess," Kirihara said. "She's putting on a brave face. You know how she is."

Her mother nodded. "She's stubborn as anything."

Kirihara grinned when she set a plate of pancakes in front of him. "Thank you, Tanaka-san."

"No problem, Kirihara-kun." She smiled warmly at him.

Tanaka walked into the room, adjusting her skirt. She always wore a little makeup, but she seemed to be wearing more than usual to cover the dark circles and redness of her eyes.

"Good morning," she said, sitting down at the table. Her mother put a plate of pancakes in front of her, and she smiled. "Gotta love how my best friend is half-American."

Kirihara nudged her under the table because she knew that wasn't true. She laughed. Kirihara looked at her mom, noticing that her shoulders had relaxed.

.

The two headed to school together. Tanaka sat on the bleachers during Kirihara's morning practice reading through her script. She checked her phone from time to time. Kirihara wondered if she was waiting for a text from her boyfriend or one from Miyagi. Kirihara ignored Niou and Marui's snide remarks about her being his girlfriend.

After practice, the two headed to class. Tanaka's shoulders sunk when she spotted Miyagi's empty seat. Kirihara didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. She fell asleep halfway through class; Kirihara made his notes extra neat so she could copy. She never slept in class. Kirihara wondered if she slept last night. From what he remembered, she was tossing and turning a lot.

During lunch, she turned her desk around and sighed. She pulled out a bag of cheetos and a grape soda. "Leftover from yesterday," she said when Kirihara raised his eyebrows. She turned the bag so it was facing him. "I have a rehearsal after school. Just a run through of the script. Do you have tennis?"

"Yeah," he answered, pulling a few cheetos out of the bag. "I just run all of practice now. What are they going to do, assign me more laps for not listening to their instructions?"

"They could make you stop."

"And if I refuse to stop? They'll assign me laps."

"Akaya, you're impossible. I don't get why you want to run. I like to run sometimes, just not when people tell me to. Like in gym, when we have to run timed things, I suddenly feel like my legs are dead. When I feel fat, I'm Flash."

"You should come to the gym with me and An sometime," he said. "You two were kind of close, right?"

"We talked about your hair," she said, grinning. "She's cool. Maybe I can tag along sometime. I'm out of shape. If I didn't have the metabolism of a tiger, I'd be dead."

"Skinny doesn't mean healthy."

"I know that. Don't lecture me." She popped a cheeto into her mouth. "I'll suffer death by cheetos if I want to."

He took the bag, holding it against his chest protectively. "_Mine._"

She laughed. Kirihara refused to give the bag back.

.

After school, Tanaka headed to rehearsal, agreeing to head over to the tennis courts when she was done. Kirihara changed for practice, and headed outside to start running.

He wasn't quite sure how many laps he ran, but he was certain he broke a record. Everyone else was playing practice matches but him. He ran until he felt his lungs burn, his heart break his ribs, his muscles melt. Only when he physically couldn't force his legs any farther did he stop.

He stumbled over to a bench where Oyama and Urayama were sitting. The two were facing each other, Oyama looking at Urayama's eye. "There's nothing in your eye," Oyama said.

Urayama pulled his eyelid back, leaning closer to Oyama. "I can feel it, Kenta. There's something there!"

"There's nothing there," Oyama said again. "You're becoming hysterical."

"I can feel it!"

"I'll poke your eye out if you don't shut up," Oyama said. He tried to sound serious, but he ended up grinning. Urayama dropped his hands into his lap, grinning along with his partner. Oyama wouldn't dare hurt Urayama. The tall boy went out of his way to make sure that no one hurt him.

Kirihara sat down, pressing his hands against his thighs. He wouldn't be able to run tomorrow. He would do crunches and pushups instead. He couldn't get Yanagi's voice out of his head – lactic acid and fermentation and alcohol. He never liked biology.

Oyama reached into his pocket, pulling out a jolly rancher. "Do you want one?" he asked, offering it to Kirihara.

Kirihara nodded, taking the candy from the first year. He still found it amusing that a guy like Oyama, who looked like he hated anything sweet, had a soft spot for candy. He always had something in his pocket so he could sneak something sugary during practice.

As Kirihara unwrapped the candy, he asked, "How're you guys doing on the third year stuff? Think you'll be able to join the regulars next challenges?"

Oyama shrugged and turned so he wasn't staring at his partner. His jolly rancher clanked against his teeth. "I guess we're getting better. We've been practicing with Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai."

"Right, they're doing a new formation or something," Kirihara said. "Is it any good? Aren't they switching positions?"

Urayama nodded. He stuck a pink jolly rancher out of his lips, then sucked it back in. Kirihara wondered if Urayama should be given sugar. Oyama never seemed to worry about it.

"They're getting good," Urayama said. "You can come with us one day. You've been practicing a lot ever since your match with Buchou. Don't you want to practice with someone else?"

Kirihara twirled the plastic wrapped between his fingers as he sucked on the candy. "I'm working with An and my friends. Just going to the gym, building up the foundations and stuff."

Kirihara wasn't sure if they knew not to mention An or if they didn't pick up on it. Instead, Urayama said, "You'll beat 'em."

"Definitely," Kirihara replied with a smirk.

.

Tanaka showed up at the end of practice. She waited outside of the locker room, scrolling through the messages on her phone as she waited for Kirihara. She had a text her boyfriend, asking if she wanted to talk and something about him being sorry. She deleted the message. Part of her knew she would get back together with him, but she had to talk to Miyagi first. She needed to make sure things were okay between them.

Tanaka had moved to the Rikkaidai-area during her second year of junior high. Everyone already had their cliques, and no one seemed too keen on letting the average-looking, preppy, drama nerd into their group. Miyagi was her tour guide to the school, and the only one to talk to her. She met Kirihara through him – the boys had been friends since grade school.

The two of them became her first real friends at Rikkaidai. They were a little strange – okay, they were really strange – but so was she. She couldn't remember a single time when they weren't laughing for more than five minutes. They made her smile. They were practically her brothers.

She didn't want that to change.

She heard footsteps and looked up from her phone. Kirihara was standing in front of her, drops of water dripping from his wet hair. She reached out, pinching a curl between her fingers and pulled on it. It was sticky. "Mousse?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It helps the curls from frizzing."

"You're such a girl."

"I could say the same for you."

She rolled her eyes, hooking her arm with his. He usually wiggled out of her grip, something about not liking physical contact unless he initiated it, but he didn't this time. They walked to the school gate, Tanaka trying to get him to skip. He refused. He had to draw the line somewhere.

.

Two days later, and neither of them had heard from Miyagi. Kirihara knew Tanaka was still crying, but she didn't do it around him.

They were sprawled out on Tanaka's bedroom floor. The two had attempted their homework, but they both decided they weren't as smart as they thought. Miyagi was the smart one in their group.

An had stopped calling, deciding that maybe he would respond to a text. She was right. Kirihara sat with his back to Tanaka's bed, telling An that he read everything she wrote in her sarcastic-voice.

"I don't get this," Tanaka mumbled, tapping her pencil against her math book. "Where are all the numbers?"

"Hiding from all the letters," Kirihara replied.

She tossed her pencil at him. "Seriously, we have a test tomorrow. We're going to fail. The kids who sit next to me are dumb nerds. Life is not going to be kind to them."

Kirihara laughed softly, but was quickly distracted by a text from An. He needed to stop talking to her. He was going to do something stupid if they kept acting like they did. Tanaka kept telling him that he was holding hurting himself by talking to her. Kirihara didn't listen. There was nothing wrong with just liking her. As long as Momoshiro didn't find out, it was an innocent crush.

Tanaka's phone rang again. She stretched her arm out, digging through her bag to get it. She stared at the number, chucked a book at Kirihara to get his attention, and then picked up. "Satoshi?"

Miyagi laughed on the other end. "Yeah. That's my name. Are you ignoring me or is your doorbell not working? I've been pressing it for quite some time now."

Tanaka hung up, scrambling to her feet. Kirihara followed, texting An that a level-five situation had just occurred. He didn't know what a level-five situation was, but it sounded intense.

Tanaka opened the door to her apartment, flinging her arms around Miyagi. She instantly regretted it because he stiffened and didn't return her hug. She pulled back, gripping her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"It's been a few days," he said with a forced smile, like he was pretended he wasn't dying inside. "What do you think happened? I mastered Jedi Mind Trick and took over the world? I'm not that good."

Kirihara leaned against the wall, waving once. Miyagi nodded in return. Tanaka shifted her weight from foot to foot and let her arms fall to her sides. She didn't know what to say. What was she supposed to say? What _could_ she say?

Miyagi must have sensed her apprehension or maybe he didn't and she was just imagining it, but he started talking.

"I've been trying to think of a way to make this not awkward, but I can't. This is awkward as fuck. I don't want to talk about this ever again, so can we just start over?" He hesitated. "I'd really like it if we could."

"Yeah, we can start over." Tanaka held her hand out. With a straight, honest face, she said, "Hi, I'm Tanaka Miho. You can call me Miho. I like grape soda. And narwhales. I think they're the children of dolphins and unicorns."

Miyagi smiled and shook her hand. "I'm Miyagi. Call me Satoshi. I like dinosaurs. I also like dinosaur chicken nuggets. They're the staple of my rainy days."

"Nice to meet you, Satoshi," she said, still shaking his hand. She looked down at their hands, and then back at his face. "You can let go of my hand now."

"Worth a shot," he said, shrugging slightly. He pulled his hand back and put it in his pocket. He looked at Kirihara. "Who's the douche with the curly hair?"

"Satoshi, shut it. I will Jedi Mind Trick you into using my mousse," Kirihara snapped. Just then, An sent him a text asking if a level-five situation was the same as a code-magenta crisis. He laughed, making his response to Miyagi not nearly as threatening as he had meant.

Miyagi grinned. Tanaka bit her lip, but ended up laughing anyways.

Things would go back to normal, it was just take time.

That was the lie they told themselves.

* * *

**A/N: :)  
**


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54.**

Niou headed to school, thankful that there wasn't any morning practice. Apparently even Yukimura had his limits. He sighed when he walked into the building, the familiar arguments of Suzuki and Ito filling the lobby. Marui was also at his cubby. When Niou got closer, Marui said, "Ten minutes and continuing."

"I am going to find whoever does this and killing them!" Suzuki shrieked. She was on her toes, trying to reach her shoes, which someone had moved into a higher cubby. She hated being short. She hated it even more when people harassed her about being short. Ito stood beside her, laughing. "And I'm going to kill _you_ if you don't shut up!"

"You sure you don't want me to help?" Ito asked. He curled his lips into his mouth to keep himself from laughing.

She stuck her foot into a cubby hole, boosting herself up. Her hips protested – she wished she could kill cramps, too. She came back down, shoes in hand, smiling like she had saved the world. "Suck on that, Ito."

"I'll see you at afternoon practice, Toots," he said. He flashed her a grin before walking away.

Marui began talking about something, but was interrupted when Suzuki walked over, complaining about Ito. "Giant ogre with shit for brains."

"Akira, make up your mind," Marui said. "Jump him, or knock him over the head with a baseball bat. Just decide already."

She poked him. "Don't be mean to me. You said you would buy me a smoothie and a fruit bowl because I won the Prefectural Tournament. That was ages ago."

"Fruit salad."

"Bunta, I don't care what you call fruit bowls. Just buy me food."

Marui groaned. "Akira, I was high on victory. You seriously expect me to buy you food?"

"Yes."

"I hate you."

"I still want food."

Niou rolled his eyes. "If you didn't have a vagina, we both probably would have punched you by now," he said. It was a half-lie. That girl did drive him insane sometimes, but he wasn't the type of person to punch anyone, even a guy.

Suzuki looked down. "Thank you, Vagina." She looked at Niou, her eyebrows raised slightly. "Yeah, I just did that. I'll see you guys in class. I gotta run ahead and do some last minute studying for the English exam."

"That's tomorrow," Marui said. "How 'bout I buy you an organizer instead of food?"

She hummed, thinking about it. Then she shook her head. "No, I definitely want food. Can we go today? I'm craving something sweet."

Marui sighed. "Yeah, we can go today."

She smiled. "Cool. See you guys in class."

She walked off, practically jogging up the stairs. A minute later, the two boys were walking towards the stairs to get to class. They passed Kirihara, who was walking with that guy he was always with. The girl was hanging behind them, holding hands with someone who the two assumed was her boyfriend. Their actions looked awkward and forced like something terrible had happened and they were pretending it hadn't.

Weird.

.

During lunch, the three third years picked at their food. There wasn't anything interesting going on in Suzuki's life, or in Marui's, and Niou wasn't the type to start talking about his personal life without any reason. Even if he had a reason, he probably wouldn't say too much with Suzuki there.

"Anyone know any good conversation starts?" Marui asked as he poked at his rice. He looked at Niou, as though he would know some. There was some logic behind it. Niou went to parties where people mingled. Then again, the last party he went to ended with him running around with Sato.

Niou shrugged.

"What do you think about raising ostriches?" Suzuki asked.

Niou stared. Marui, however, thought it was a perfectly normal question. "I love it. Ostriches can solve all of the problems in the world. Need a labor force? Ostrich army."

"My pet penguin, Pen-pen, can help," she said. "He leads a duck army."

Marui grinned, remembering that conversation. "Don't forget the ninja assassin dogs."

"The ostriches can fly those badass planes with the guns," she added. "They can drop their eggs on top peoples' heads because those suckers have some big eggs. Like, seriously. Those mamas are beasts for laying those things."

"I'm changing the subject because I'm wondering if I can hit your jugular with my chopsticks," Niou said. "Superhero names. Pick one."

"Nuclearo," Suzuki said. "I'd have nuclear powers. I'd make everyone shorter than me."

"Mine would be better than that," Niou said arrogantly. "I'd be the Trickster."

"That's your nickname now," Marui pointed out.

"Maybe I am a superhero," he said mysteriously. Suzuki rolled her eyes.

"Mine would be Ostrich Man," Marui said. "Or Genius Ostrich Man."

Niou snorted. "Yeah, you'll try to fly, run into a fence, and break a tooth."

"Will you stop it with the tooth?" Marui asked. "It was back in junior high. It's still not funny. It will probably never be funny."

"You're right," Suzuki said, grinning, "it's hilarious."

Marui tossed rice into her hair.

.

At the end of the day, Suzuki headed off to practice. Even though they had won the Prefectural Tournament, there was still Kanto Regionals, which was the first big battle. Her drive to get to Nationals had spread through the softball team, and the girls were working harder than ever to reach that goal. The baseball team was taking it up to the next level, too, determined to take home another National title.

After stretches and running, Ito ordered everyone to do catching practices. Suzuki sat under a tree, watching her team work as she wrapped her arms around herself. She wanted to be out there practicing with them, but her hips hurt from cramps and she was tired from staying up late studying for a test she didn't even have.

Her eyes were half closed from exhaustion when she saw Ito walking towards her. He sat down next to her and said, "Go home. Get some rest. You look like you're about to die."

"Can't die yet," she mumbled in reply. "I'm going to Sweat Treats with Bunta after practice because he owes me a fruit bowl and smoothie. I want that smoothie damn it."

"Right. The red headed guy you're always with," Ito said, nodding.

"Are you jealous of Bunta?"

"Jealously generally comes with dating. We're not dating."

She rested her head against his shoulder. "Obviously."

"You used to hate me," he mentioned casually. "Well, maybe not hate, but strong dislike. What's up with you, Toots? Earlier today you were calling me an ogre, or a tall bastard, or another one of your lovely comments. That time of the month?"

"Yes, it is, so shut up before I punch you."

She felt like she was talking to Marui, yet it was completely different at the same time. Ito and Marui had a similar personality at times, but she felt like she could trust Ito more. Maybe it was because Marui never thought of her as a girl, and that he left her alone when she was hurt because she was "strong." Ito was different; he realized that sometimes she needed to just talk to someone, that she wasn't an emotional rock who could deal with everything.

She didn't care how they were similar and different. The two played completely different roles in her life. Marui was her best friend. Ito was something else.

She let out a sigh and kept talking. "And I never hated you, even after that thing in junior high. I just didn't want to let you get the chance to do something like that again. Not gonna lie, but you were a total douche in junior high. You're less of a douche now, so I talk to you. Don't go and turn into a girl. I'm the one with the lady parts, so stop over thinking things. Just be a guy and take things at face value."

"You're using my shoulder as a pillow. I'm seeing that as a couple of things."

"It means I'm tired and I need a pillow."

"Okay. Then I'll stop writing poems in my head for when you say you love me." He smiled slightly when she snorted. "You know, I'm sorry for what I said back then. If it counts for anything, you're not a flat chested freak anymore. I mean, you're still kinda flat, not that I'm looking. But you're not a freak."

Suzuki grinned. "Stop checking me out or I'll kill you."

"Would this be before or after you punch me?"

"After."

"Sadist."

She laughed softly, and he laughed with her. For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about how she knocked out his two front teeth with a kickball when they were five. He would stick gum where the teeth were supposed to be and say his new teeth were purple.

When they finally stopped laughing, she realized his hand was on top of hers and his fingers were laced with hers. It was hidden by their legs so their teams wouldn't notice. The grass felt itchy. Her palm was all sweaty. His fingers were calloused. She should have pulled her hand out of his, but she didn't. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew she could get used to the feel of his hand in hers.

She closed her eyes, letting out a breath through her nose. He murmured something about sweet dreams, and how he would protect her from any balls their idiot teammates threw in their direction.

.

When Suzuki woke up, Marui was sitting in front of her, working on homework. Her head was no longer on Ito's shoulder; it was resting on Marui's bag, her shoulder digging into the ground. She sat up, and he glanced at her.

"You were asleep when I got here," Marui said. "We'll do Sweet Treats tomorrow, okay?"

She wanted to ask where Ito was, but she didn't. Instead, she looked at the English book in front of Marui. "I memorized all of the vocabulary words last night," she said. "I can quiz you."

Marui nodded and closed his textbook so he couldn't see the answers. She was acting strange. When she woke up, she usually went straight back to sleep unless there was something on her mind. He didn't ask because she was saying words in English and he had no idea what they were in Japanese.

* * *

**A/N: When life gives you lemons, buy an ostrich. **


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55.**

Niou decided he was going to do some pretty obscene things to whoever had the balls to call him on a Sunday morning. He wasn't surprised when he saw Marui's number. That boy was itching to be licked. Or something like that. Niou needed to stop watching those American western movies his dad liked.

"Dude, do you _want_ me to kick you in the balls with a metal tipped boot? Because I will. Oh, I will."

Then, silence.

"Marui?"

"This is Akira," Suzuki said rather awkwardly. There was a bark in the background, and then Marui screamed something about ninja assassin dogs. Suzuki sighed. "Bunta's making me call you to ask if you want to hang out. I won't be hanging out, but he wants to hang out with you. Something about a genius like him needing help because his genius-ness isn't working when he looks at his math homework. Am I making any sense?"

"No."

Suzuki sighed again. "Bunta came over, woke me up, and asked me to call you. Apparently he was afraid you were going to castrate him or something. I think a metal tipped boot might do the trick considering he hasn't got many balls to get rid of, buuut... Yeah. That's about it. Yay or nay on hanging out with him?"

Niou rubbed at his eyes. He was too tired to work out whatever she had just said. "Nay. If he wants you to call again, don't. I'm sleeping."

"Alright."

"Tell him I'm bringing triple chocolate cake tomorrow, and that he can't have any."

Niou hung up, not caring if that was rude or not. Guys just hung up on each other. Suzuki was close enough to a guy in his mind. In fact, considering he had barely even thought of her a friend last year, it was a miracle he could even stay on the phone with her for that long on a Sunday. Before autumn, Suzuki had just been that not-so-annoying-girl that Marui hung out with. She was pretty cool.

Whatever. It was Sunday, and he didn't care. Swimming, more swimming, a smoothie, working on the next strike in the Prank War, and then a meeting with Sato – it was going to be a good, lazy Sunday.

Niou went back to sleep.

.

Niou kicked his legs until his head broke through the surface of the water. He gasped, his lungs filling with air. He rolled onto his back and floated on the surface of the water. Riko was sitting on the edge of the pool, her feet dangling in the water – she was visiting for the day because she didn't have class. Kenji was on a tube, lazily following the flow of the water created from the pool pump.

Their house didn't have an outdoor pool, but it had a heated, indoor pool in a room that had more windows than actual walls. Even the roof was glass.

Niou swam over to his younger brother and flipped the tube. He crawled on top of it, lying on his stomach, grinning when Kenji resurfaced. The younger boy brushed his black hair out of his face and spat out water. Niou stuck his tongue out at him.

"Masa, stop being mean to him," Riko scolded from her spot on the edge. Kenji swam over to another edge and yanked another tube into the water.

"He's got one," Niou said, watching as Kenji pulled himself on top of the tube. He looked at Riko. "See? Stop being a mom."

"I can't help it," Riko muttered. Niou raised an eyebrow. Kenji gave her a strange look. "I'm not pregnant!" she said, just in case they were thinking she was. (Which they were.)

"Then what's up, Ri-ri?" Kenji asked.

"I miss Naomi and Hiroshi," she said without embarrassment. "Masa, how come they never come over anymore?"

Niou shrugged and dropped his arms into the water. "I don't know. They just don't. Stuff's been hard for them, and Hiroshi doesn't want Naomi to depend on us. At least, that was what that moron said."

Riko nodded understandingly. When Niou became partners with Yagyuu, there was a mutual understanding between the two that they had nothing in common but tennis. Because of that Niou trusted Yagyuu, and Yagyuu trusted Niou. Yagyuu was the first one Niou revealed his true family to. It wasn't until two years ago that Niou met Naomi, saw how Yagyuu lived. Nothing really changed between the two, despite their families.

However, after that, Niou and his family began to drop off Christmas and birthday presents for the Yagyuu children. Even their father and mother had become attached to the two children, thinking of them as their niece and nephew. Naomi called them Riko-nee, Niou-nii, and Kenji-nii. She only called Niou by his surname because that's how Yagyuu addressed him. Niou figured he still did that to control some aspect of his life, to keep up that flawless image. Niou didn't care.

Niou flicked at the water with his hands, spinning his tube. Moments later, Kenji bumped into him.

.

Riko had left with their mother to go shopping or some girly crap. Kenji was lying on a white lounge chair, smiling whenever his phone buzzed. Niou was in the chair next to him, currently playing with the straw of his strawberry-banana smoothie. It was weird to be drinking a smoothie that didn't have fruit chunks like the ones at Sweet Treats.

Annoyed at the silence, Niou said, "Who the heck are you texting that's making you smile like the Joker?"

Kenji shrugged slightly. "Just people."

"_Liar_."

Kenji glanced at his older brother out of the corner of his eye, and then turned a little red. "My duet partner," he said. "She's making brownies because I mentioned I hadn't had brownies in forever."

"Brownies?" Kenji nodded. Niou couldn't stop himself from laughing. Kenji was blushing like mad, and Niou had to force himself to calm down. "Ken, please tell me that you know she digs you."

"She doesn't," Kenji said, shaking his head and sitting up to look at his brother. "She told me she likes this other guy. Two people can just be friends, Masa."

"Okay, okay, you're friends," Niou said with a level tone as he turned his head to look at his brother. "Phone is beeping, Ken."

"Yes, friends," Kenji repeated as he opened his phone to answer a text message. He got that smile again. Niou rolled his eyes. After typing a quick response, Kenji looked back at Niou. "_Friends_."

"I got it, Ken."

With a red face, Kenji set his phone on the ground next to his chair, and walked towards the pool. He sat down on the edge, dangling his feet in the water.

When his phone beeped, Niou looked at Kenji. He hadn't heard it. Niou grabbed it, glancing at the message – _I made heart shaped brownies haha :) _

Niou set Kenji's phone back where it was. Kenji would figure it out one day.

.

Niou was lying on a flat lounge chair on his stomach, a mere two seconds away from sleep, when his phone rang. He was about to ask Kenji to get it, when he remembered his younger brother was in the pool once again. Niou slipped his arm out from under his head and groped the ground next to the chair until he found his phone next to his empty smoothie cup. Without looking at the number, he pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he answered groggily. People needed to stop calming him while he was asleep. One day, he would follow through with his threats.

"Tired are we?"

Niou rolled onto his butt and sat up, swearing mentally. He also really needed to start checking to see who was calling. Hearing Atobe's voice was not as pleasant as he believed it was.

"What is it?" Niou asked. "I was actually having a rather nice day until just now."

"Do you ever fathom that I'm someone who should keep contact with? I've been sending you messages for the past week, and you have yet to reply. I'm assuming it's because you're very busy preparing for the tournament, and have let it go unnoticed. However, I need to know whether or not you can attend."

"I delete all the messages you send me. Sorry 'bout that. Gotta keep my inbox empty in case something important comes. Care to fill me in? Also, using 'fathom' makes you sound like a douche. Pretty sure you used it wrong."

"Niou Masaharu, you are testing my patience."

Niou smirked. "Good to know the feeling's mutual. Now start with the phone sex or hang up."

He could practically see Atobe rubbing his temple with his free hand. "My father has bought a new yacht and he's allowed me to invite several of my closer acquaintances to take her out for a ride. It would be several days before the Kanto Tournament."

"Let's think about this logically. You, me, and a boat. I'd kill you and dump you for the sharks to eat."

"Did I mention Sato Ree is being invited and plans on attending?" Atobe asked calmly. Niou didn't respond. The obnoxious heir laughed softly to himself before continuing. "I'm aware that the two of you have become rather close. If you wish for my opinion, I believe you could do better. She has a pretty face and a good brain, but she's a pain to talk to. I'm certain that you know what I mean, Niou."

"Still thinking about how I can dump your body," Niou said. He was slightly irritated that the jerk had brought up Sato as a bargaining chip. "Who else is coming?"

"Oshitari, Mukahi, Sato, Fujiwara's daughter – the usual."

"Would I have to spend the night?"

"The trip will be held from early in the morning to sometime in the afternoon. We will return to shore before midnight. Semi-formal, which I'm sure you can appreciate and adhere to. Are you interested, yes or no? I'm a very busy person, Niou, and don't have much more time to waste talking to you."

"You're asking for me to drag this conversation out," Niou replied boringly. When Atobe didn't respond, Niou let out a small sigh. "What's the exact date?"

"May first."

"I'll come."

Niou hung up before Atobe could reply. He set his phone down on the ground, rolled out of the chair, sprinted for the pool, and did a cannon ball. He resurfaced, ignoring the strange look from Kenji.

.

After a quick shower and change of clothes, Niou was in his bedroom. He was lying on his bed working out a schematic that would allow him to release a can of spray-on-glue from inside of a locker and simultaneously dump feathers from the ceiling. He was going to make a chicken out of Sanada. It was symbolic or something. Sanada wasn't fighting back, and Niou was going to call him out on it.

There was a knock at the door. Niou shouted for them to come in, and then door opened. He looked up, wondering if the maids were dropping off laundry early. It wasn't the maids. He saw his mother, who must have returned from shopping with Riko, with a recently closed cell phone in her hand.

He and his siblings had her eyes – a brilliant blue. No matter how many laugh lines she gained or how many gray hairs she grew, they seemed to fit her perfectly. However, with their father's black hair, the Niou children appear to be something out of fantasy story with those eyes. Even after dying his hair white, Niou wasn't able to dull their brilliance. Not that he wanted to dull them in the first place. Secretly, he loved his blue eyes that set him apart from everyone else.

"How is school?" his mother asked asked as she walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge. "Oh, your father says hello."

"It's fine," Niou answered. He wasn't particularly close to his mother. He had nothing against her, but they didn't exactly have anything in common to talk about.

"Tennis?"

"Good."

His mother sighed. "Masaharu, look at me."

Niou sat up slightly, doing as he was told. Everyone at school was under the impression that he was a bad boy to the core. They were obviously wrong on so many levels.

"Your father wants to know when your tournament is," his mother said, fingers tapping against her cell phone. Niou assumed she had just finished talking to him.

"The first and second rounds are May fifth," Niou answered without a pause to think; he was good was numbers, including dates, "Semifinals are on the sixth, and Finals are on the thirteen."

"He might only be able to come to one of those dates. Is that alright?"

"Since when do you play secretary?"

"Watch your tone, Masaharu," his mother said sharply. "I'm doing it because he's been very busy. He tried to call you earlier, but you were on the phone."

Niou's father rarely had the time to call him during the day, and Atobe had to go and screw up the one time he did. He was going to raise hell on that boat.

When Niou didn't say anything, his mother stood up to leave. When she got closer to the door, Niou rolled back onto his stomach and said, "Thanks, Mom."

She smiled and closed the door.

His mother was a stereotypical American woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, the later of which he inherited. His father had gone to American to study during high school as an exchange student, and he met her. They said it was love at first sight or something like that. It was a love story, but there was something about it that made Niou believe that love was more than hormones.

Niou suddenly remembered that he was meeting up with Sato soon. He didn't know why he remembered in that particular moment.

.

Niou left his house in his car towards the café he was supposed to meet Sato at. After finding a parking space, which was no easy feat, he walked into the café. It was small, and smelled like coffee and banana muffins. He looked around, but didn't see her. He checked his phone to see if she had called him to cancel, but there were no messages. Looking again, he saw a girl sitting alone with a book.

He walked over and she said, "Hello, Bond," without looking up from her book. "You were standing there like a statue for over a minute. To be honest, it was entertaining."

Niou blinked. "You're wearing glasses."

Sato looked up. The glasses were thick black frames and were completely foreign to Niou. "Yes, I'm wearing glasses," she said slowly, as though she was confused about him being confused. "I left my contacts at a friend's and I couldn't go around using sonar like bats do, so I had to wear them. Is there something wrong with that?"

Niou shrugged and sat in the chair she kicked out for him. Niou felt under-dressed in sweatpants and an old t-shirt compared to her. She always wore nice clothes. He figured it was a girl thing because Riko was the same way.

"Did Atobe call you?" he asked curiously. He pulled out his phone and began to text Marui, asking if they had practice tomorrow morning.

"Yes, he did. I'm going to that party thing," she answered as she turned the page of her book. "Am I so boring that you need to pull out your phone within twenty seconds of sitting down? If I am, I'll be glad to leave."

"Stop being so bitchy. I'm just asking about tennis."

"Atobe mentioned that when he called. Something about it being held before the tournament, as if that clarified anything for me."

"I think he assumes that everyone knows everything about him because he goes out of his way to get people to realize he isn't his father."

"I believe you just described yourself, Bond."

"I wish I could say something about you and your father or mother, but I don't know anything about you, so I can't."

"You can ask," she said, lifting her eyes for a moment to look at him. "I find it annoying when people talk unnecessarily about themselves, so I tend not to do that. I only talk about myself when someone asks."

"I've asked you stuff before," Niou pointed out as he flipped his phone open. He groaned mentally when he read Marui's text. They did have practice. He snapped his phone shut and looked at her, even though she was looking at her book again. "You never answer."

"You lie to me when I ask about you, so why should I answer?"

"Then we'll sit here silently."

"Alright with me."

Niou sat silent for quite some time, refusing to be the one to break. He texted Marui and Yagyuu, talking about how Sato was annoying and stupid. Marui made fun of him. Yagyuu said he liked her. Niou stopped talking to them. Some friends they were. He decided he would text Jackal, who didn't respond.

He heard a phone ring, realized it wasn't his, and looked up. Sato grabbed her purse off the back of her chair and declined the call. She left her purse on the table and went back to her book.

"Ex-boyfriend or something?" he asked. He realized he had broken the silence, but he didn't care.

Sato didn't respond for a moment. Niou was just about to call it quits and go home when she said, "My mother. We've been in a disagreement."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Well, I'm asking," Niou said, nudging her with his foot under the table. She pulled her legs away, crossing her ankles close to her chair. He raised his hands into the air, and then dropped them against the table with a bang. This girl frustrated him. To think, people called _him _distant. "Why the hell can't you tell me? You just told me to ask."

"I would answer anything but that. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No."

"Just tell me."

She closed her book and gave him a blank look, her words level and cold. "I said, no. Now shut up or leave me alone."

Niou's face was blank as he studied hers. He rocked back on his chair so only two of its legs were on the ground. After a moment, he caved and said, "Alright. Answer this question instead: what would you do if I broke out into song?"

She blinked at him, and then her face broke into a faint smile that lasted for all of two seconds. Then her face was blank and familiar.

"It depends on the song."

"Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"

"I would probably leave."

To her surprise, he didn't sing.

* * *

**A/N: I'm addicted to The Fades. Best. Show. Ever. Kinda weird, but hilarious in its own right, and I'll be damned if there's nothing scarier than a cannibalistic ghost-thing.**


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56.**

Yukimura had quit being captain three times since the start of afternoon practice. Regionals were right around the corner, and he had ordered the regulars to play practice matches with those on upper level schedules. Within ten minutes, Urayama nearly choked on a gummy worm Oyama had given him, Marui had tripped over his shoe lace, and Niou was aiming balls at Sanada.

"I quit," Yukimura said again as he sat down on a bench next to Yanagi. "I'll rejoin in a few minutes. You can be captain until then."

"Seiichi."

Yukimura ignored Yanagi, and began to look for Sanada. He was scolding Kirihara, who had refused to play his match against Hayashi. Sanada shouted something, Kirihara smiled, and then began to jog. With a confused expression, Sanada walked over to the bench and sat down next to Yanagi.

"He smiled when I assigned him laps," Sanada said, shocked. "He even thanked me."

"He's gained manners? Oh, the horror," Yukimura said sarcastically with a smile. Sanada didn't seem amused. Yukimura sighed, glancing at Kirihara as he ran. "He's been running quite a lot since I beat him, hasn't he?"

"Chances are he is redoing his training from start to finish. I believe it was Tachibana's sister's idea," Yanagi commented. "Sadaharu said Momoshiro and she have been disagreeing slightly, and the most logical assumption would include Akaya."

"You sound like such a sane stalker," Yukimura said. When Yanagi's face turned into a mirror image of Sanada's, the captain sighed. "I'm joking."

"On another note," Yanagi began, "would you two like to come to my house after school? It's been quite some time since the three of us did anything together."

"I told my father I would help at the dojo," Sanada said. It was an obvious lie, but the two didn't press.

Yanagi looked at Yukimura, who was frowning. "I have plans with Koga-chan. I'm picking her up after school at Silly Lilies, and then she's coming over to meet my father and sister."

Yanagi nodded. "I see. I apologize for forgetting that."

"It's alright."

Just then, there was a shriek of pain, and Jackal grew incredibly flustered. Marui had tripped on a tennis ball.

"Seiichi, it looks like you're needed," Yanagi said.

Yukimura groaned as he stood up.

.

In the locker room after practice, Yukimura blew his whistle to get everyone's attention. He was standing by the bulletin board, which had two new sign up sheets on them.

"Regular challenges for the Kanto Regionals will be held later this week," Yukimura announced. "For those who have forgotten the terms of the regular challenges, there is a brief explanation posted as well. Are there any questions?"

After a brief moment of silence, Yukimura turned. He turned right into Kirihara, who had walked over.

"Akaya, you're playing the matches whether you like it or not," Yukimura said gently.

Kirihara didn't say anything. He walked around his captain, grabbed a pen off a chain by the bulletin board, and scribbled his name on the challenge sign up for singles. He dropped the pen, turned to Yukimura, and tilted his head in the slightest sign of arrogance.

"Well, Buchou? Am I allowed to challenge for singles-three?"

Yukimura's face became void of all emotion. He studied Kirihara for a moment, not addressing his question.

Back by the regulars, Marui leaned towards Jackal, whispering "What the hell just happened?"

The silence allowed his question to carry to Yukimura's ears. "Last year, when Akaya was assigned as the regular to beat for the challenges, I told him that if he ever wishes to claim a spot higher than reserve in Regionals or Nationals, he must challenge the person whose spot he wants to take. Singles-three is most commonly played by Renji. Renji, do you accept?"

Everyone in the locker room looked at Yanagi, who appeared unphased by the sudden turn of events. "I accept," he said calmly.

"Wait," Marui said, butting into the conversation. "Akaya plays singles-three and -two all the time during Nationals."

"On special occasions, he does," Sanada said. No one seemed to care that every club member was listening. Then again, it never stopped the regulars before. "However, his main position is the reserve player."

"Akaya and Renji will play their match before the other single challenges have been completed," Yukimura continued. "Challengers will be playing against Genchirou instead of Akaya. It's a simple matter. I expect there are no more questions."

When he was greeted with silence, he turned and headed for his locker. Kirihara went to his locker as well.

"Hurry up," Sanada ordered at the other members, who were watching the two instead of changing and leaving. The members did as they were told.

When no one was looking, Oyama walked over and signed Urayama and himself up to challenge Niou and Yagyuu. Several other doubles players followed. No single players signed up – playing Kirihara was one thing, playing Sanada was another. Kirihara was beatable. Sanada was a monster, the Emperor, and definitely_ not_ Kirihara.

.

Yukimura hoped on a train, his mind heavy with thoughts. Kirihara used to challenge them all the time. Then, the younger boy entered high school, and seemed to understand that he couldn't defeat them. Lately, Kirihara had reverted to his old mind set. Yukimura was concerned. Perhaps the stress of life was getting to him. Maybe that girl with the broken smile that he was always with was affecting him. Or it could be that Kirihara was still the same Kirihara he was three years ago.

Yukimura didn't know what to think.

The bells of Silly Lilies chimed as he walked in. The shop was rather full, and Koga and her boss, Hara, were busy at work. Yukimura walked behind the counter and smiled at Hara, who said a brief hello. Koga gave him a brilliant smile before refocusing her attention on daisies. When she finally got the chance, Koga knelt in front of her boyfriend, who was reading yet another book.

"Can I change at your house?" she asked; she was wearing her school uniform under her apron. "I brought some clothes in my bag."

"That's fine. If we leave when you get off, we'll get home half an hour before my father and sister. We're supposed to make desert."

"Cupcakes?"

"Brownies."

"Brownie-cupcakes?"

Yukimura smiled. "Is that even possible?"

She shrugged as she stood back up. "I don't know. I guess we'll find out. I gotta get back to work. Keep reading."

Mind heavy or not, he had her to clear his thoughts.

.

The two got on a train, and walked hand-in-hand to Yukimura's apartment. A bouquet of calla lilies that he bought for Emiko's vase was sticking out of his bag. Koga kept readjusting her hand in his. Yukimura wondered if it was because they were in public and she still wasn't comfortable with minimal PDA or if she was worrying about whether or not her hand was sweaty. Yukimura knew he was definitely worried about the latter of the two.

Koga slipped off her shoes when they got to his apartment and looked around. There were a few pictures of Yukimuras in the living room, and the kitchen was visible through an archway. Flowers were everywhere – vines on the table, a small orchid was on a table surrounded by picture frames, and a few flowers that she didn't recognize were on the tables.

"And to think, I thought you were clueless to flowers at one point," Koga said.

"My mother used to take me to the botanical garden down the street when I didn't have school. It was the one thing we had in common." Koga nodded, fiddling with the strap of her bag, unsure of what to do. Yukimura glanced down a small hall. "Bathroom's the first door on the left. I'll heat up the oven. We need to make these brownies or my sister is going to go crazy."

She made her way to the bathroom. She double checked that the door was locked, and set her bag on the small counter next to the sink. There were pictures and sticky notes stuck on the mirror edges – a flustered Yukimura with a bottle of hair dye (he probably didn't want the picture taken), Emiko with her ears pulled out like a monkey, notes that their mother wrote years ago telling them to brush their teeth, notes to each other with teasing insults, and arrows pointing to sides of the sink labeled 'S' and 'E' for Seiichi and Emiko.

She opened her bag and changed as quickly as she could without falling, though she did come close to knocking her head against the wall once or twice. First she put on the dress she had brought. She hated dresses, but she put it on anyways. She looked at herself in the mirror, realized that she had an enormous bruise on her knee because she tripped the other day. Then she noticed you could see her underwear, and the last thing she needed was for Yukimura's family to see her underwear.

She stripped, fell, shouted to Yukimura that she was okay when he asked, looked at her flaming face in the picture-covered mirror, and changed into the other set of clothes she brought – long sleeved tunic that when down to her mid-thigh and jeans. It wasn't as nice as the dress, but she felt more comfortable in it, the bruise on her knee was hidden, and you couldn't see her underwear.

She left on her socks because she hadn't taken the time to paint her nails like she had meant to. Then, wondering why she chose that day of all days to wear her monkey socks, she hoped Yukimura wouldn't look at her feet. That would be absolutely horrifying. She smoothed the fabric covering her stomach, debating whether or not she looked okay. She was used to tugging on holey jeans or yoga pants and grabbing the first thing she saw in her closet.

She decided it was too late to change her mind, and left the bathroom with her bag.

"Where should I put my bag?"

"Sofa's fine."

Shortly after he said that, Koga walked into the kitchen. She laughed into her hand when she saw Yukimura putting cupcake papers into a cupcake pan. There was something about the picture that was hilarious to her.

"I thought we were making brownies," she said once her laughter subsided.

"Brownie-cupcakes. It sounded like a good idea."

She smiled. He suggested adding M&Ms. They did.

.

They put the calla lilies Yukimura had gotten for his sister in the vase on the kitchen table. After adjusting them so they looked presentable, the two set off to making the brownie-cupcakes.

With two minutes left on the timer, Koga stood by the sink licking the spoon as Yukimura washed the dishes. He had been telling her that her father was going to cook, and until he was done they would watch a movie or something with Emiko. Koga was licking her lips to make sure they were chocolate free when she heard the door open. She tossed the spoon into the sink, apologizing through nervous laughter when the water splashed onto Yukimura's uniform shirt.

"I needed to change anyways," he said. "Dad! I'm changing out of my uniform. Koga's in the kitchen."

Koga gave him a pleading look. Yukimura kissed her forehead and left. She could feel blood rushing to her face as her boyfriend left and his family walked in.

"Hello, I'm Iwako, Seiichi's father." He shook her hand, and she wondered if her hand was sweaty. What if it had chocolate on it? She barely noticed Emiko had smiled and said, "I'm his sister. You can call me Emiko. It'll be too confusing if you call all of us Yukimura."

"Good idea. Call me Iwako-san."

Koga wondered how she could refer to her boyfriend's family in such a familiar manner after just meeting them when she didn't even call Yukimura by his given name. However, she finally understood where Yukimura's politeness came from.

Yukimura came back in a pair of jeans and a black polo, saving Koga from awkward chit-chat. He walked over to the oven, which had just beeped, put on a pair of oven mits, and pulled out the tray of brownie cupcakes, which was just brownie mix put into cupcake containers.

"Brownie cupcakes?" Emiko questioned.

"With M&Ms," Yukimura said. "Koga's idea. Well, the M&Ms were mine."

"I like her already. Dad, I'm changing too."

Koga had hardly realized Emiko was wearing a Rikkaidai junior high uniform until the younger girl had left the room. The younger Yukimura left the room. Yukimura's father shooed the two out of the kitchen so he could start dinner.

.

The three teenagers settled down in the living room with all the plants. Koga sat on a love seat, waiting for Yukimura to set up the old N64 so they could play Mario Party Two – "Nothing says bonding like fighting over mushrooms and stars," he had said. When he was finally done, he tossed a controller behind his back for each of the girls, and then joined Koga on the love seat.

"I call Yoshi," Emiko said as the game loaded up.

"Mario's mine," Yukimura said.

"I guess I'll be Peach," Koga mumbled, moving her pointer to pick the princess.

"Mario's totally in love with Peach," Emiko said. Koga wondered if she was trying to get a rouse out of her brother. Either way, it made her ears turn red, and Yukimura didn't seem the least bit phased.

When it came to picking the board, all hell broke loose. Yukimura wanted Horror Land because he liked the way the characters looked. Emiko said she wanted to do Pirate Land because it was easier, so they left it up to Koga. She hardly remembered the game from her early childhood, and picked one called Western Land so the two siblings didn't fight.

As they went through the rules, Yukimura leaned closer to Koga and whispered, "I think Emiko was right. Mario does like Peach a whole awful lot. She as the cutest monkey socks."

Koga lifted her feet off the floor and tucked them under her to hide her socks. "Why do you have to say things like that?"

"Because I like your socks."

Koga sunk into the sofa, embarrassed, and rested her head on his shoulder. "They're just socks..."

Yukimura didn't respond because he knew she didn't want him to. He just wondered why she didn't see that she was beautiful, monkey socks or not.

.

When Iwako finished cooking, he called the three into the kitchen. Emiko helped her brother set the table while Koga helped plate the food. She couldn't cook herself, so she had great respect for those who could. Iwako had made fried rice, stir-fried several vegetables, and baked some dish with fish.

"Could you place this on the table, Koga-chan?" he asked politely as he handed her the plate with the fish.

"Sure." She took the plate, and set it next to the vase of calla lilies on the table. Yukimura took the bowl of rice, placed it next to the fish, and sat down at the small table. Koga sat down next to him.

"Nervous?" Yukimura asked softly.

"I'm great. Definitely not wiping my palms on my jeans because they're still sweaty."

Yukimura smiled when she looked down at the table, embarrassed. She obviously hadn't meant to say that out loud.

Iwako and Emiko sat down at the table, the vegetables joining the other dishes. After a quick thanks, they began to load up their plates. Koga was glad no one straight out asked her a question at first. So when they finally did ask her a question, she didn't stutter and turn red like an idiot.

She told them how she wanted to go into medicine or biochemistry. They didn't interrogate her, and the subject quickly changed to Yukimura. Apparently he wanted to get a degree from university before entering in pro tennis tournaments.

"I'm majoring in literature and education at Rikkaidai University," Yukimura said. The topic of school hadn't come up between Koga and him before. "I figured that going pro won't pay for the rest of my life unless I get contracts for advertising or something, so I want a steady job to fall back onto. Teaching is as good as anything. Maybe I can coach a school tennis team."

Emiko was apparently an excellent swimmer. She often went on to compete in upper level tournaments. Not at the national level, but she did get close last year, missing a spot on the region's team by eight milliseconds.

At the end of dinner, Emiko and Iwako took the dishes to the sink to be rinsed off. Yukimura and Koga were in charge of desert, which was their brownie-cupcakes with ice-cream.

"You know, I've never seen you play a real game of tennis," Koga mentioned as she watched Yukimura scoop vanilla ice-cream onto small plates next to the brownie-cupcakes. "Maybe I should come to the upcoming tournament?"

"Come see a match? I don't know. I –"

"Seiichi, are you done yet?" Emiko asked. She was back at the table. Iwako was finishing off the dishes. Koga smiled at him, took two finished plates, and set them on the table. Yukimura scooped the rest of the ice-cream and placed the remaining two plates on the table.

Yukimura was oddly silent during dinner. Emiko seemed to find that strange because she pointed it out every five seconds by asking him something embarrassing – "What kind of hair dye do you use?"

"Emiko," Yukimura said firmly. He obviously didn't want to respond, but he didn't want to yell at his sister. Iwako seemed to be enjoying his embarrassment.

"Do you remember that time you had to wear princess band-aids on your face because you cut yourself your first time shaving?"

"_Emiko_," Yukimura repeated. Iwako was laughing at this point. Even Koga had to smile at her boyfriend's shame.

"Remember when that boy at school put orange hair dye in your shampoo and you couldn't dye it back for a month?"

"Okay, stop it," Yukimura ordered. Prank War I was never to be mentioned. Never. Especially not in front of his girlfriend, who was trying her best not to laugh. His father seemed to have no problem with laughing.

.

After desert, Iwako insisted he would drive Koga back because he didn't want them walking alone this late. Yukimura and his father went outside to head down to the car, but Emiko grabbed Koga's arm before she left. The young girl had her cellphone out. Koga smiled, and reached into her bag. She handed her phone to Emiko, and took Emiko's in return.

"If you ever need a girl to talk to and don't feel like talking to your friends or family, feel free to call me or text me," Koga said as she typed in her number. Emiko felt like she could believe her. The two switched their phones back, and just in time.

"Koga, are you coming?" Yukimura called from outside.

"Coming!" she shouted back. She glanced at Emiko, said, "Bye," and then went outside.

She wondered how tough it was for Emiko not to have a mother. Iwako did seem to try his best to be a kind, understanding father, but she doubted Emiko trusted him with everything. There was obviously her brother, but Koga got the impression that he wasn't the most affectionate person. Koga wasn't sure, but she couldn't recall a time he had said "I love you" to his family. The few conversations she overhead him having with his family ended with "me too" or "ditto."

"Koga, are you okay?" Yukimura asked as they slid into the backseat of a small car.

"Yeah," Koga said, wondering when they had walked to the car. She told Iwako where she lived, then he turned on the music and pulled away from the apartment complex. Curious, she asked, "What were you going to say before dinner? I asked if I should come to your next tournament."

Yukimura sighed. He had hoped she would have forgotten that brief conversation.

"My tennis style does not reflect who I am," Yukimura said. He was trying to avoid what he really wanted to say –_ I change when I play tennis._

"Tennis is a big part of your life. I feel like – well_, _I guess I just feel like everyone else has seen you play and I haven't."

"You can watch if you want. I just don't want you to think differently of me."

"I couldn't think any differently of you. You'll always be Yukimura Seiichi. The Mario to my Peach. Oh gosh, that sounded so cheesy. Forget I said that."

"There's nothing wrong with a little cheese."

They both smiled, and Yukimura felt any worry about her watching him play tennis melt away. Just as Emiko had, he trusted her. She was just that kind of a person.

Yukimura finally figured out what was so special about her. She didn't know she was special. In her mind, she was just a girl with monkey socks and annoying hair. She had no idea that to Yukimura she was so much more.

* * *

******A/N: I was a little hesitant to make this story have a Yukimura/OC component, but I'm glad I did.  
**

******Also, I'm sorry for not responding to reviews. I truly appreciate all the lovely comments :)**


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57.**

Yukimura took the sign up sheets for the regular-challenges down before exiting the locker room. The members were warming up. A few of the challengers were rallying against each other, including Urayama and Oyama. Kirihara was off to the side, stretching after completely his laps. It was going to be a long day.

Yukimura walked over to the hill and sat down next to Sanada and Yanagi. "Genchirou, you have five challengers. Don't lose."

"Are you implying that it's possible that I can lose?"

Yukimura smiled. "That's the spirit."

"I had Sadaharu compose a list of scenarios that could spawn from my match with Akaya," Yanagi said. "In his opinion, which is obviously biased, he says there is a seventy percent chance that I win. I removed the bias."

"And?" Yukimura prompted. "The chances of you winning?"

Yanagi looked at Kirihara. "Sixty."

"That little?" Yukimura questioned. He looked at Kirihara. The second year had grown more than anyone on the team since he first joined back in junior high, but to be able to have a forty percent chance of winning against Yanagi? Two months ago, it would have been impossible. Yukimura wondered what exactly Kirihara's training was doing to make Yanagi feel so unsure.

"He's been training with Tachibana An," Yanagi stated. "She, as well as many others, are faced with insurmountable odds. In fact, Akaya's situation is very similar to Hiyoshi Wakashi's from Hyotei. He is still attempting to defeat Atobe, and as a result his skill has tripled since entering high school."

"That's ridiculous," Sanada said firmly. "That boy isn't in Atobe's league. No matter how much we deny it, Atobe is strong. Not the strongest, but strong. That second year is not even close to beating him."

"Facing an impossible task makes one accomplish impossible things," Yanagi said wisely. "Perhaps Akaya will do the impossible."

"Or maybe he'll fail," Yukimura said.

Their conversation ended there. The last of the members were finishing their laps. Yukimura stood up, pulled a whistle out of his pocket, and blew. Without giving the command, everyone lined up on the courts. The regulars piled behind Sanada, Yanagi, and Yukimura.

Once the courts when silent, Yukimura said, "We'll begin with doubles pairs challenging Marui and Jackal. All challengers are to wait on the bleachers and will be given five minutes to warm up before their match."

After a quick recap of the rules – the challenger must win six-three to take their desired spot – the first doubles pair came over. Sanada sat in the referee chair, waiting until he was called to play in the single challenges. Niou and Yagyuu sat on a bench, watching Marui and Jackal trudge through their matches. Once again, only Urayama and Oyama had challenged Niou and Yagyuu.

Kirihara sat apart from the other regulars. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to hear Yanagi's out-of-game voice the same day he heard his in-game voice. The thought of Yanagi standing opposite of him was terrifying. It also made him tingle with excitement.

.

Marui and Jackal bumped fists after finishing off their last challengers. They walked over and sat down on the bench, each wondering if they smelled because the second they sat down, Yukimura and Yanagi stood up. Niou and Yagyuu watched from their bench as the two third years pulled Urayama and Oyama aside.

"Take your wrist weights off," Yukimura ordered the two first years. "Play time is over. Show them what you've got or don't even bother. The match will be played to the end regardless of the score."

Yanagi held up a small box. Yanagi's arms didn't move or shake as the two first years tugged off their wrist weights and dropped them into the box. Urayama didn't seem to notice Yanagi's strength. Oyama did. Not just anyone could take that much weight, arms straight out, and not flinch. He really was amazing. Kirihara was going to get his money's worth in their match.

"Good luck," Yukimura said as Yanagi and he walked away.

The two first years walked onto the court. Oyama's hair was tied back, and Urayama's socks were above his ankles. From a distance, most people would have assumed Urayama had his ankles wrapped. The regulars recognized those bulges. There were ankle weights under those socks.

"Hiroshi," Niou began quietly from the bench he and Yagyuu were sitting at, "play along."

Yagyuu said, "Of course," as Niou stood up.

The air went cold when Niou walked onto the court. His shoulders were slouched, his racquet was tucked under his arm, and he had his hands in his pockets. He studied Urayama and Oyama for a moment. Then, he glanced over his shoulder at Yagyuu, who was fixing his collar.

With a devilish smirk, Niou loudly called out, "Code Blue."

Yagyuu nodded once, and then bent down to make sure his shoe laces were tied tightly. Oyama and Urayama exchanged looks. Urayama shrugged. Oyama turned his attention to Niou. The Trickster walked up to the net, ignored Oyama's poker face, and put the tip of his racquet to the ground.

"Call it," he ordered.

"Rough," they responded in unison.

The racquet clattered to the ground. Niou picked it up, smirked, and turned it for the first years to see. It was smooth. Without another word, Niou walked into position, glanced at Yagyuu, and then waited. Oyama walked into position, nodded at Sanada, and then looked back at Niou.

What was Code Blue? Kirihara told Oyama that when Niou and Yagyuu entered high school, they used a series of numbers and colors to call out plays instead of hand gestures. The numbers and colors changed every match so there was no way to crack it. Why would they reuse an old trick? That wasn't Niou's style. And where were the numbers?

That was probably the trick. It would be unexpected for him to reuse something. But did he know that Oyama knew about that strategy? There were too many possibilities for Oyama to be able to calmly work it out.

"Urayama-Oyama pair versus Niou-Yagyuu pair! One set match, Yagyuu to serve!" Sanada called.

Yagyuu's serve was fast. Oyama could only blink as it shot past him. Blue? Waterfall? Inui's Waterfall? But Yagyuu couldn't copy moves. Was Niou dressed as Yagyuu? Niou's actions – slouched shoulders, hands in pockets, racquet placement – were exactly what he used to do in junior high. Too perfect. Too clean. Too rehearsed.

"Fifteen-love."

Oyama and Urayama switched positions.

If Niou was dressed as Yagyuu, then why were the shots so fast? Yagyuu was known for fast, straight shots. Niou was known for everything else. His Laser was close to Yagyuu's, but it could never compare. To do a shot as fast the Waterfall – wait, it wasn't that fast. It was just a fast serve. That was definitely Yagyuu serving, and definitely not the Waterfall.

"Thirty-love."

Oyama moved to return the next serve.

Then what was Code Blue? Fast serves?

"Code Red," Niou called.

Code Red? Oyama didn't think. The serve slowed slightly. He returned it, but Niou was right in it's path. Niou slammed the ball next to Urayama, who jumped out of the way. Oyama caught it when he bounced to the baseline.

Code Blue – fast serves.

Code Red – no freaking clue.

Urayama and Niou were in a rally. Neither wanted to give. Urayama's power increased fractionally when he took off his weights. He was able to serve faster, but his power was nothing to brag about. Oyama was the same. His shots were faster, and he could hit a shot that he couldn't before, but he could never overpower an opponent like Niou. Despite his lanky limbs and skinny build, the Trickster was strong.

Urayama missed the ball, and Oyama missed it on the bounce.

"Forty-love."

Urayama smiled at Oyama, and said, "Don't worry. The first service games are hard to break."

Oyama nodded in agreement.

Code Red. Rally? Slow serves to weaken stamina? No. It was something else.

Oyama snapped back into attention when a ball was in front of his face. He returned it, barely, with a drop shot that Niou smoothly returned with a lob. Oyama couldn't step back to reach it, so Urayama ran forward. Urayama was short, but had good timing; he hit a smash.

It wasn't strong enough. Yagyuu returned it. The first years missed it.

"Game, Niou-Yagyuu! One game to love! Oyama to serve."

As Oyama headed for the baseline, Urayama grabbed his wrist. "Kenta, come on. Stop thinking about stupid things. Just set things up. I'll do the rest."

Oyama nodded. He tossed the ball into the air, slammed his arm down, and watched as the ball zoomed through the air.

"They have faster serves without wrist weights," Yukimura commented from a bench. Yagyuu returned the serve. Then, the captain added, "But not much faster."

From another bench, Kirihara watched. He didn't know what Niou was doing, but he knew it didn't matter. No weights meant that Oyama could pull off his signature move. The Circus Pair was going to prove its name.

On the courts, Yagyuu took his stance. The ball shot past so quickly, Urayama wasn't sure if he had followed it correctly or not. It had gotten faster in two months. Perhaps Yagyuu was no longer holding back his power. Or worse, he was still holding back power.

"Love-fifteen."

"Shiita, don't worry about it. You can't hit it even if you see it. It's too strong to hit."

Urayama nodded. Oyama thought of Code Red. Lasers? Is that what it meant? Rallies and Lasers? Too simple.

Oyama's serve was returned by Niou with ease. Yagyuu took his stance when Urayama volleyed the ball back. Urayama's head whipped around as Yagyuu's Laser shot past him.

"Love-thirty."

It wasn't _that_ much faster, Urayama thought. He could still follow it. Kirihara told him that if you can see the ball, you can hit it. He needed to hit it or they couldn't win.

"You're not hitting it," Oyama said from the baseline, as if he could read his partner's mind. "I'll set you up, so just hit your shots, and do what we agreed on."

Urayama nodded again. Oyama served.

Code Red. Blood? Make Urayama hit the Laser like he tried to last time and hurt himself? No. That was too violent, too cruel...

"Code Green," Niou shouted.

The ball was coming back. Oyama didn't have time to think. He hit the ball.

.

"Game, Niou-Yagyuu! Two games to love! Niou-Yagyuu lead. Niou to serve."

"Why don't they just use Tightrope Walking?" Marui asked.

"It's risking points," Jackal said. "He can't hit it perfectly like you can, Bunta. It's like flipping a coin. Fifty-fifty. Fifty-fifty is not acceptable in an important match."

Marui looked frustrated. Urayama and Oyama were teaching Marui and Jackal, but the education went both ways. Marui liked the two first years, and he thought that Niou and Yagyuu needed to be taken down a notch. He was biased. He wanted Urayama and Oyama to win.

Sanada's score calls hit the first years like bullets – "Fifteen-love," "Thirty-love," "Forty-love."

Urayama's nerves were setting in. He didn't notice a lot of things when he was playing tennis, but he noticed Oyama, and Oyama was starting to panic.

"Hiroshi, I think you should slow the Laser down," Niou said, looking at his opponents instead of his partner. "I mean, you've been slowing it down all this time. I think a little more won't hurt."

Urayama walked back to Oyama, knowing Niou wouldn't serve without them being ready. Niou was the Trickster, but that didn't mean he was a jerk.

"Kenta, what's wrong? You're spacing out."

"Code Blue, Red, and Green. I don't know what that means."

"Does it matter?" Urayama asked. "Just play. It works for me. You're intelligence is distracting you."

It hit Oyama harder than ball to the head. Niou was messing with him. The codes meant nothing.

"Shiita, rush and hit drop shots. Make Yagyuu lob the ball. I think I got a way to make the Laser useless."

Urayama wanted to say that he could hit the Laser. He had seen it a million times, seen the ball path, seen the speed – he could hit it. He didn't say anything. He nodded, and took his spot by the net. Oyama tackled him the last time he tried to hit that shot. Urayama didn't want to see Oyama's knees covered in blood because of him ever again.

Niou's serve was fast, but it was slowing. Oyama returned it easily, and waited by the back line. His straight face was back. Niou was smirking. Oyama was certain the Trickster knew that he had figured it out. Oyama didn't care. Urayama had done what he was told, and the ball was high in the sky after Yagyuu lobbed it.

Kirihara smirked from the bench. The other regulars watched curiously, clueless.

Oyama jumped in a strange position that looked awkward, yet strangely familiar. The ball came down, but not the right way. It was fast and strong and curved like a Snake, like an elephant's trunk curling down to reach the water container at the circus. The Elephant Smash.

The two third years didn't even move.

"Forty-fifteen."

Urayama was grinning when Yagyuu and Niou's faces remained blank. "Come on, Kenta, let's put on a show. Get it? Circus? Show?"

Oyama smiled at the bad pun, and walked into position. Niou didn't look amused.

"It's a version of the Snake shot," Yanagi stated from the bench. "It's not technically a smash, merely a shot hit from a higher position. It's hit at a downward angle, approximately sixty degrees, and curves like the average Snake shot. Interesting."

Beside him, Yukimura didn't look nearly as interested. "I'll listen to an overview of their new statistics when the match is over. Until then, I want to see what Niou and Yagyuu will do."

Yanagi nodded.

.

"Game, Niou-Yagyuu! Three games to three. Oyama to serve."

Yagyuu's Lasers were still fast, still strong. Even with the Elephant Smash, it was too much. Yagyuu's Laser could be hit nearly every shot. Oyama had to wait for a lob, and having Urayama rush the net with Oyama up there already was risky because it left the back open.

Oyama knew what Urayama was thinking – _if I could just hit one._ Oyama wasn't risking that. Their plan didn't include Urayama breaking his wrist. If he hit a Laser, that's what would happen. Even without their wrist weights, Niou and Yagyuu were no match for them. But that didn't mean they would go down without a fight.

Oyama and Urayama walked over to Kirihara before the start of the next game. The second year moved so they could sit down on the bench. Urayama chugged half a purple Gatorade. Oyama hardly touched his water.

"Niou-senpai likes to trick people," Kirihara said, stating the obvious. Oyama listened anyways. "Those codes didn't mean anything. You figured it out faster than most people. That seriously pissed him off. Pulling the Elephant Smash out of nowhere freaked him out even more. He might not look it, but he's flipping out mentally."

Oyama looked at Niou and Yagyuu, who were dead silent on the other bench. Yagyuu was wiping his glasses. Niou was rubbing the wrist weight on his right hand, thinking, planning, working it all out in his head.

"Oyama, you have to trick him back," Kirihara continued. "He won't buy codes, but he doesn't know the rest of your moves. I'm not saying to get pissed off and do that freaky Lion Tamer thing, but do something. You know what's under Urayama's socks. Use that to your advantage."

Oyama nodded and looked at Urayama's ankles. His socks were bulging. He had ankle weights that were heavier than his wrist weights. Oyama didn't want to reveal that secret just yet. That was for an even bigger match. Urayama's speed was too potent for a practice match.

Niou and Yagyuu stood up to get back to the court. Oyama took a big sip of water and stood up. Before walking away, he turned to Kirihara.

"Senpai, you've changed."

Kirihara didn't know what that meant. He watched Oyama and Urayama walk onto the courts, and then looked at Yanagi. He was going to be playing that monster. He was going to win. He was going to prove to everyone else that he had changed.

Back on the courts, Oyama was having a quick chat with his partner before serving. "Shiita, stop whenever I yell 'stop.' Do you understand?"

"Why?"

"Because you follow the ball no matter what. They assume you're going to hit every shot you can. They won't know when I'm going to tell for you to stop."

"You don't have to be like Niou-senpai to beat him," Urayama said. "We can beat him the regular way. I don't like tricking people."

"Kirihara-senpai said we need to. He was our captain two years ago for a reason. He knows what he's talking about and he knows Niou-senpai better than we do."

Urayama tapped Oyama on the head with his racquet. "Kirihara-senpai is just jealous because you're smart enough to trick Niou-senpai when he can't. I have another plan."

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"What is it?"

"Do. You. Trust. Me?"

Oyama didn't hesitate. "Yes."

Urayama smiled, and bounced into position. "Just serve!" he shouted over his shoulder. He looked at Kirihara for a moment, and cheerfully added, "And butt out, Senpai! We got this!"

Kirihara grinned. He expected as much from Urayama.

Oyama served. It was easily returned. When it came near Urayama, Oyama recognized the position. Oyama's first thought was that Urayama agreed not to hit that shot. The second thought was that it was the one move that allowed them to play with the Circus Pair style.

Urayama's Tightrope Walking rolled along the net before falling onto Niou and Yagyuu's side of the court. Urayama smiled with glee, gave Oyama a thumbs up, and bounced in place.

"Fifteen-love."

Two successful Tightrope Walking's later, and Urayama was ecstatic. Niou and Yagyuu were waiting for the their chance. One Laser could change the flow. One Laser could smoother all hope Urayama's unlikely success had brought to the game.

They never got the chance. Urayama hit a drop shot. They returned it with a lob, completely forgetting about Oyama's Elephant Smash.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama! Four games to three! Urayama-Oyama lead. Niou to serve."

.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama! Four games to five! Niou-Yagyuu lead. Oyama to serve."

Niou wanted to growl in frustration when Urayama and Oyama took another game. They finally managed to snag two in a row, one more until they won the match, and then those first years took another.

Niou didn't know why those two first years kept scoring points. There was nothing particularly special about their playing style. Sure, they had some fancy moves, but there was no fancy footwork or power. Just tennis.

"_Puri_."

Yagyuu gave Niou a curious look. "It's been three years since anyone has made you say that. You must be having fun."

Niou didn't respond. He looked at Marui. The red head was friends with the first years. From bits and pieces of conversations Niou had heard between Suzuki and Marui, he understood that Marui was learning a new formation. Niou didn't know what, but Urayama and Oyama were helping Jackal and Marui. Niou could work with that.

"Hiroshi," Niou said, "Cosplay Bubble."

"You just made that up," Yagyuu said with an exasperated sigh. Niou gave him a look. Yagyuu nodded. "Fine. If it doesn't work, it's my turn to try something."

Niou smirked. "Don't worry, Hiroshi, it's ending now."

Niou shifted his racquet to his right hand, his non-dominant hand, and walked up to the net. He moved his lips out, as though he was chewing bubble gum, and swished his bangs away from his face. He rested his racquet on his shoulders, popped his hip, and bent his knee, looking completely comfortable. He gave off a different aura. Urayama didn't know what, but he thought he was looking at a friend.

He turned around, looked at his tall partner, and asked, "Why aren't you serving?"

Oyama was looking at Niou. Urayama turned and looked at Niou again. It was almost as though there was a ghost-image of Marui in front of him. Urayama flinched when he heard Marui's voice paired with the words, "Come on, Urayama. Hurry up. I promised my mom I'd be home in time for dinner."

Urayama turned again. He knew what Oyama was seeing. Oyama wasn't seeing Niou and a vague resemblance to Marui like he was. Oyama was seeing Marui.

"Kenta, listen to me. It's not him. It's not Marui-senpai."

Oyama knew that it was logically impossible to be seeing Marui there, but he couldn't shake the image from his mind. The mannerisms were too specific. It was his voice. It didn't matter that it was physically impossible because it looked real.

Niou-Marui moved his lips like he was blowing a bubble. Would Oyama's mind automatically associated a bubble with the movement? Probably. Urayama didn't fall for it.

Urayama turned to Niou-Marui and asked, "What's the new formation you want to learn again, Senpai? I kinda forget. You told us awhile go when we were eating."

Niou thought. The kid was smarter than he gave him credit for. He thought back to all the conversations he wasn't included in but heard. He thought back to Suzuki, yelling about Gatorade and complaining about Ito. A phrase came to mind.

"Suzuki Formation."

The illusion faltered, but Oyama still saw a vague ghost of Marui due to the mannerisms and voice. But he knew it wasn't Marui. It was definitely Niou. Marui hadn't told them the name of the formation yet, and neither had Jackal. The real Marui would have said that or he would have said, "Marui Rocks Formation."

Urayama looked back at Oyama. "Kenta, serve."

Oyama did just that. Yagyuu hit the return, and Urayama returned that. He began a rally with Niou, following the ball. He knew that Niou was still acting like Marui, hoping the illusion would work it's way back into Oyama's mind. Urayama didn't care. He followed the ball, not the person. It was pointless. It wouldn't work. It was –

Urayama froze. Niou's return didn't make it past the net. It rolled along the top – rolling, rolling, rolling just as far as Marui's did. The real Tightrope Walking. The move that made the ball fall on the opponent's court no matter what. It wasn't Urayama's pathetic attempt. It was Niou's perfect imitation.

"Love-fifteen."

Urayama shook it out of his mind. Oyama's serve whirled past his head. Urayama heard Kirihara's voice from two years ago in his head – _follow the ball, Urayama. Whatever happens, follow the ball.  
_

Niou returned the serve straight to Urayama, a challenge. Could you hit a Tightrope Walking? It was a Marui-like move to challenge someone so directly. The illusion was strengthening for Oyama. Urayama only heard Kirihara's voice as he tracked the ball, and hit a Tightrope Walking. It rolled, and then fell by his feet.

"Love-thirty."

"Jackal, I think this guy needs to get a reality check," Niou-Marui said. "I'm a genius. Obviously _I'm_ the only one who can hit that shot. I'd like to see him try to be as good as me."

Urayama knew it was a lie. Niou had just hit that shot. Then again, it was Niou who had said that, not Marui. Urayama was starting to get mixed up. Oyama was probably having the same problem. Urayama chose not to think about Oyama. He heard Kirihara's voice.

Another serve came by his head. Yagyuu returned it. Urayama wondered what happened to Yagyuu's Laser. He hadn't used it in awhile. Did he think that Niou's trick was enough? Maybe he was tired. He didn't look like it. Was he relying on Niou's trick? Was he purposefully holding back so Niou could have his fun?

Niou-Marui shot another ball that landed on the net and rolled, rolled, rolled before landing by Urayama's feet.

"Love-forty. Match point, Niou-Yagyuu."

"Do you think they're messing around, Jackal? They can't be that bad, can they? Looks like we don't need to take off our weights after all."

Another serve came whirling past his head. Niou hit the return. Urayama hit it back.

_Follow the ball, Urayama._

The short first year watched the ball leave the racquet as a blur. He was vaguely aware that Oyama was at the baseline yelling not to hit it. It was the Laser. Urayama's recognized the path and speed. He didn't think. He followed the ball.

He moved his arm to swing –

"Shiita! STOP!"

Urayama froze when he heard Oyama; the Laser flew past him.

"Game and match! Niou-Yagyuu win, six games to four!"

Urayama turned to Niou, his illusion shattered. The Trickster had a pleasant smile on his lips. "Puri."

Niou's smile turned into a smirk when he walked off the courts. Yagyuu followed. The two sent a look at Yukimura, which the captain understood. They had some business to attend to at the end of practice.

But before that could happen –

"Yanagi-senpai!"

* * *

**A/N: I attempted to explain the thing were Niou transforms into people. I always took it as a mental/visual trick where you think you're looking at the person, but not really. Kind of a vague sense of seeing them because of the actions, voice, mannerisms, and such are being copied. The characters swear they see Marui, but it's completely in their minds due to Niou's acting. Does that make sense?**

**Obviously the tennis is unrealistic in the manga so the Elephant Smash doesn't need to be physically possible. However, I do have my own semi-rational theories for a lot of the moves/modes of players, not just Niou's illusion. I have my own explanation for the devil mode later (except the white hair because that's weird). I also have one for why people who play Yukimura get YIPs.  
**

**And I swear Urayama-Oyama aren't the only matches I do, but they probably have the most. All the regulars have at least one match. Sanada and Yanagi's will be probably be their matches against Kirihara, who has a few of his own. Niou and Yagyuu get one really awesome one later, as do Marui and Jackal. I guess Yukimura has one or two cool ones as well.**

**T/N: Ahhh! I just love these two, and they kick butt! Oyama is still the most amazing character ever, and these two are just the cutest doubles partners ever!**


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58.**

"Yanagi-senpai!" Kirihara bellowed as he walked onto the courts.

Urayama and Oyama turned their heads. The second year tilted his head slightly towards the bench he was just sitting at. Urayama and Oyama walked by him, the shorter of the two wishing Kirihara good luck. Oyama didn't; he merely caught Kirihara's wrist weights when they were tossed at him. Oyama knew Kirihara didn't believe in luck. Skill was skill, and winning was winning to that boy.

Kirihara was shaking on the courts. After watching that match, every player present was on edge. Kirihara wanted to play more than anything in that moment. He wanted to _win_ more than anything. The law was still in the back of his mind replying like a prayer:

_Always win. Losing is not permitted. _

Kirihara stood by the net, looking at Yanagi, waiting for him to come to the courts. He could see the slight shake in Yanagi's hands. He wanted to play just as badly.

"Do you want to warm up?" Yukimura asked as Yanagi stood up from the bench, racquet in hand.

"No, I'll be alright."

Yukimura nodded. Yanagi walked over to the net.

"Akaya, you can serve first," Yanagi said. He expected Kirihara to say something about how this was serious and he didn't want to be treated like a child, but he didn't. The second year walked towards the baseline, gripping his racquet tightly to keep his hand from trembling.

"Kirihara versus Yanagi! One set match, Kirihara to serve!"

Now or never, Kirihara told himself. He served.

Kirihara knew he had a short amount of time to secure as many games as possible. After a few games, Yanagi would have an up-to-date understanding of his skills. His data would be complete. Kirihara had to use his mysterious training to his advantage. He was stronger, but not strong enough to overcome Yanagi's intelligence with force alone.

The first two games passed as quickly as his Knuckle Serve flying by the opponent's face.

"Game, Kirihara! Two games to love! Kirihara to serve."

His Knuckle Serve cut to the right after bouncing, but Yanagi was there, faster than he had gotten there during the first game. That wasn't just speed. Yanagi was beginning to piece things together. The data was being completed.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Kirihara shouted as he dashed to the net. "Not yet!"

Yanagi was already at the left corner where Kirihara had aimed his shot.

"Love-fifteen."

Yanagi returned the shot in his blind spot.

"Love-thirty."

Yanagi hit his drop shot, Cicada.

"Love-forty."

Kirihara thought of where to hit the shot as the ball approached him, but he knew it was too late. If he thought, "I'll hit it there because he's expecting me to hit _there_" Yanagi would have thought the same.

Kirihara had always been the dumb one in his little trio. Yanagi had always been the smart one in his.

"Game Yanagi! One game to two! Yanagi to serve."

Kirihara swore. Yanagi served.

.

"Game Yanagi! Four games to three! Yanagi to serve."

Kirihara was in position, waiting, when he realized what was taking so long for his senpai to serve. Yanagi was standing at a bench in front of Yukimura, slipping off his wrist weights. Yukimura didn't take his eyes off of Yanagi, wondering why he suddenly decided to take his weights off. There were only two games left until victory. Just what was he trying to accomplish?

"Akaya, prepare yourself," Yanagi warned as he took position.

Kirihara waited for the serve –

The ball spun up and rammed into his chin. He stumbled backwards and fell, the ball rolling by his feet. That was going to leave a bruise. Were his teeth cracked? He moved his jaw. He didn't think so.

"Fifteen-love."

Kirihara forced himself to his feet, wobbling back and forth before gaining complete balance. He kicked the ball out of the way with more force than necessary, sending it off like a projectile. Now he was mad.

"Akaya, I said to prepare yourself."

"Stop babbling and serve!"

Yanagi hit the same fast, hard, intimidating serve. Kirihara returned it, barely.

Yukimura understood what Yanagi was doing. It was what they had been doing all along – pushing Kirihara Akaya to the edge, crushing him into the ground, making him stronger. But something was off. Yanagi was never cruel when defeating Kirihara. He was harsh, but not cruel. As he watched a high slice ball fly by Kirihara's head, Yukimura decided that Yanagi was being cruel.

"Thirty-love."

"Forty-love."

"Game Yanagi! Five games to three! Kirihara to serve."

Yanagi knew that even if Kirihara won that he wouldn't have felt any joy in beating a handicapped player. Yanagi would push him, he would still crush him, and that would make Kirihara stronger. Cruelty was the only way to accomplish that.

Kirihara swore as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. He had been struggling before Yanagi took off his weights. Yanagi hadn't taken his weights off since last year at Nationals during that match with Inui. Kirihara had forgotten the strength of the Master.

_Always win. Losing is not permitted. _

Kirihara gripped a ball between his knuckles. He wasn't going to lose. He had taken his weights off too. They were on equally ground now, and Kirihara was going to win despite that.

Eyes red, Kirihara served.

Yanagi didn't attempt to hit the Knuckle Serve. He watched as it flew by his ear. Kirihara hadn't aimed at him. When he entered any demon mode, he usually aimed at people. So he had control. That meant he could be aggravated. That meant he could be manipulated. That meant he wasn't as powerful as he thought.

.

"Game Kirihara! Five games to five! Kirihara to serve."

"I'm going to speed it up a bit," Kirihara warned, smile twisted.

"Please do, Akaya."

Kirihara growled in the back of his throat. He served.

Yanagi's plan worked. Kirihara was mad. Mad enough to aim shots at his body, something he hadn't done in years. The brutal shots to his limbs and torso were easy enough to return for someone like Yanagi, but the power of the shots was another matter all together. Yanagi reasoned that Kirihara must have been doing heavy basic training the past month or two because his power had doubled. Little by little, Kirihara was growing...

Yanagi returned a shot aimed at his knee, but just barely, preventing him from getting the right control over the ball to prevent it from going –

"Out! Game Kirihara! Six games to five! Yanagi to serve."

Kirihara's smirk was feral. "Yanagi-senpai, I'm gonna crush ya."

No one said a word, or if they did, it was so soft that only the boy next to them could hear it. At the benches, the regulars watched carefully. Three years ago, when they left to enter high school, they instructed Kirihara not to use any of the demon modes – bloodshot or devil. They knew they should have stopped the match, but Kirihara's pride was on the line. Rikkaidai respected someone's pride more than anything else. Except for winning of course.

Kirihara Akaya, the baby who joined the team, the one that held them together. Without him, they would have been a group of boys who played tennis together. If he hadn't joined the team, they wouldn't have grown as close as they were. He was the core of Rikkaidai, the one thing that kept it stable. It was ironic how the one thing that kept them together was the most unstable, insane boy in the world when he lost his temper.

As Yanagi tossed the ball into the air to serve, he heard the same mantra as Kirihara – _Always win. Losing is not permitted._

The facts showed that Kirihara was mad, that he was losing his concentration. One drop shot to change the flow of the match...

Kirihara slammed his racquet against the ball, sending it flying towards Yanagi. The angle was odd – it was improbable that he could control it enough to hit a Cicada, but not impossible. The match was down to Yanagi's intelligence and will, and Kirihara's power and five-year old goal.

Yanagi moved his racquet, and watched as Kirihara followed the ball as it tumbled over the net. It didn't bonce. It rolled on the ground towards Kirihara. A perfect, improbable Cicada.

"Fifteen-love."

A lob over Kirihara's head to the baseline – "Thirty-love."

A shot to his blind spot – "Forty-love."

A no-touch, super spin ace – "Game Yanagi! Six games to six. A tiebreaker will determine the winner. First to seven points with a two point difference wins. Kirihara to serve."

Intelligence or power. Yanagi wondered which one would win.

"Akaya, prepare yourself."

Kirihara sneered as his red eyes flashed with rage.

.

The tiebreak ended when Kirihara crashed to the ground. His cheek skid against the court, his palms went red with pain, his racquet tumbled out of his shaking hand. He forced himself to keep his eyes open through the sting of the sweat, but the world was spinning. He was going to pass out...

Kirihara shifted his head to follow Yanagi's feet as he walked towards the net. His mind was racing as his muscles began to throb. He only had a few more seconds. Knowing Yanagi, he was probably waiting for Kirihara to stand up to shake his hand. The winner hadn't even been announced, and Yanagi was already playing the good guy. Damn bastard and his sportsmanship.

Calmly, Yanagi turned his head towards Sanada. "If you wouldn't mind announcing the winner, Genchirou."

"Game and match. Kirihara wins, seven games to six."

Kirihara passed out with the world's largest grin.

Yanagi walked off the courts.

"Marui, Jackal – take Akaya to my office and set him on the sofa; he won't be waking up for awhile," Yukimura ordered. Yanagi appeared in front of him, his face as unreadable as Niou's. "Renji, take shower and go home."

"That move he performed," Yanagi said, not explaining.

"I know," Yukimura replied, glancing at Sanada. "The move he could never copy."

"It was stronger. Genchirou's was never at that level. It still isn't at that level."

"We'll talk later. Go home. I'll referee Genchirou's matches."

Yanagi nodded and made his way to the locker room, the force of that shot still vibrating deep in his bones. Kirihara could never beat his data tennis; his intelligence was never enough to defeat Yanagi's. But there was no amount of data that could stop the brutal force of that shot.

.

When Kirihara woke up, he knew he was in for hell. He had always known that his bloodshot and devil modes weren't good for him even before Yanagi explained why. The rage. It changed his blood pressure so suddenly and the adrenaline was in his system for so long that he would damage his body permanently. Honestly, Kirihara disliked the sudden consequences more than the long term ones.

He sat up from the sofa in Yukimura's office, his hands shaking in his lap. The adrenaline slowly leaving his system made him shake, sometimes violently, sometimes nothing more than a tingle. This particular time, it was a slight tingle.

When he finally came to completely, he turned his head to find Yukimura sitting at his desk. Yanagi and Sanada weren't there.

Without needing Kirihara to ask why the two weren't present, Yukimura said, "Renji left after your match, and Genchirou went home at the end of practice."

Silence.

"So, uh, I won?" He thought he had won. He vaguely remembered winning.

Yukimura nodded once. "Yes, you won. Congratulations. Your winning shot was quite a sight."

Kirihara definitely didn't remember a winning shot. In fact, the entire tiebreaker was blurry. Maybe he had gotten a bit of his rage from anger after all. He tended to forget a lot of the things he did while in a demon mode. Yanagi said it was a defense mechanism or something funky like that so he didn't hate himself.

"Did Sanada-fukubuchou win all of the challenges?"

"Of course."

Kirihara nodded. That meant he could still challenge Sanada.

"You're main spot will be singles-three," Yukimura continued. "Remember, that does not mean you'll play every match, nor does it mean you will always be playing singles."

Kirihara nodded. He smiled, the victory finally hitting him. After five years, he beat one of them. The Big Three of Rikkaidai was beginning to crumble, and it was because of _him_. He didn't think he would ever stop smiling.

"Yes, congratulations," Yukimura repeated. "If you don't mind, I have some business with Niou and Yagyuu. They've been waiting for quite some time..."

Kirihara stood up, slightly wobbly, and headed towards the door. Once he shut it behind him, he spotted Niou and Yagyuu sitting on the floor with their backs to the lockers and books in their laps.

"It's about damn time," Niou said, closing his book. "You know, I think you pass out for about a minute, and then just sleep."

Kirihara kept smiling because not even Niou could put him down. He won. He was singles-three. He was one-third done his years long goal. He had to call An. She would want to know that he had won. At least, he hoped she did.

Niou and Yagyuu walked past the second year, both clamping a hand on his shoulder as he opened his locker to get to his school bag. It seemed that someone had put his tennis bag in there.

Wait.

Kirihara turned just in time to see Niou and Yagyuu enter Yukimura's office. Had Niou just given him a pat on the back? The world was ending. Yagyuu probably patted him twice to make him think Niou had done it.

Kirihara grabbed his phone out of his bag, and began to take off his shorts as he pressed the phone between his ear and shoulder. He realized it was weird to call your ex when dropping your pants, but he couldn't seem to find a damn to give.

"Hello?"

Kirihara froze, shorts hanging off one foot. That wasn't An. That was a guy. Oh crap. He was talking to a guy with his underwear on. That was wrong. So, so, _so_ wrong.

"Kirihara, why do you keep calling An if you two are supposed to be broken up?"

Oh. It was just Momoshiro.

_Crap._ He was talking to Momoshiro Takeshi from Seigaku with only his underwear on.

"Just give An the phone," Kirihara said. He really didn't want to deal with that idiot right now. He grabbed his pants out of his bag, and slipped them on as Momoshiro gave An the phone.

"Akaya?"

"Guess what."

"Monkey stole your tennis racquet?"

"Close."

An hummed. "Was it a penguin?"

Kirihara laughed as he put on his belt. "I beat Yanagi."

She made a noise that Kirihara had never heard a human begin make; it was a mix of a gasp and a scream. "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, An, I'm kidding. It was a lion that stole my racquet."

"Call me later at, like, nine. I want point-by-point details about this."

"Alright. Sorry for interrupting."

"Yes, Akaya, you should be sorry. Takeshi and I were having hot monkey sex before you called."

"I hate your sarcasm."

"We're at Kawamura Sushi," she said as though it was obvious. "Oishi's visiting the Seigaku team so Fudomine crashed and I tagged along. The sushi just finished so I need to go. We'll talk later."

"By –"

She hung up. He looked at his phone for a moment, and then shut it. He tossed his phone back into his bag, finished changing, and left without taking a shower. Later, as he texted Tanaka and Miyagi the big news, he realized he could have done the same for An. He didn't care. It was nice to hear her sound happy about something he did.

.

When Niou and Yagyuu walked into Yukimura's office, Yagyuu sat on the sofa. Niou sat on the other end on the sofa's arm. Yukimura wanted to sigh at Niou's manners, but he had grown accustomed to the Trickster's odd ways.

"I'm assuming this has something to do with the match you two had earlier?" Yukimura said.

Yagyuu nodded. "Yes."

"Then please explain. I'm not telepathic."

"The only people who have ever been able to return my Laser are you, Yanagi, Sanada, Kikumaru, Kamio, and Oshitari Kenya," Yagyuu said with slight resentment. Listing everyone made it sound as if every player had returned it. "It's logical that the three fastest players in the National Tournament are able to hit the shot as well as you three. For a first year to be able to reach it at its current speed while wearing ankle weights..."

He trailed off. He couldn't say that it was humiliating.

"What are you suggesting I do?" Yukimura asked.

"Let them play in one match as doubles-two at Kanto Regionals," Yagyuu said. Yukimura eyed him curiously. "It will help them. They're too accustomed to playing against opponents who use intelligence as a weapon. They need to realize that many players don't have a strategy."

"It doesn't effect Urayama-kun's play style," Yukimura pointed out.

"But he relies on Oyama-kun," Yagyuu added, "and Oyama-kun is a strategist. We all know that once we leave the Rikkaidai legacy will continue. It's our responsibility to make sure we leave the strongest players behind."

"Can we cut the crap?" Niou asked. "Ice-Cream-Head relies on the ogre. If the little brat's partner is sealed by a strong opponent, they're screwed ten ways from Sunday. No high level doubles pair in this club plays with brute force except for Akaya. They need to face someone who does or they won't get any better."

"And why do you care if they get better, Niou?"

Niou looked offended. "Like I give a damn about those brats. I just don't want our reputation to turn to crap because we left behind sucky players. I'm not having my name dragged in the mud 'cause Ice-Cream-Head can't play tennis."

Yukimura knew he was lying. Niou cared about those "brats" a lot more than he let on. Tennis had become boring for Niou. The best doubles teams were doubles-one and always faced Marui and Jackal. There was no one good enough to challenge Niou. Those first years brought back the fun in tennis.

"Buchou?" Yagyuu questioned at Yukimura's silence. "Will they be allowed to play one match?"

"If the opponents suit your argument, they will be allowed to play one match as doubles-two," Yukimura answered. "Until then, they are not to know. I don't want the other members finding out. I'm afraid we have some insubordinate members who don't respect anyone other than third years on the team. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Niou muttered. He left without being told to do so. Yukimura gestured towards the door, and Yagyuu quickly followed his partner.

Yukimura leaned back in his chair, staring at the papers for the upcoming tournament that had taken over his desk. He picked up a schedule, wondering if they would have anyone the two first years could go up against.

Hyotei and Seigaku were up against each other in the first round. The winner of that match would probably go up against Fudomine in the semifinal, and whoever won that would face them in the final.

Before the finals, the only real team that could cause problems for them would be Rokkaku in the semifinals. The other schools in their block weren't a match for them. St. Rudolph hadn't even made the cut for the tournament, and Rokkaku would take care of Yamabuki in the quarterfinals.

Yukimura sighed, and slipped the schedule in his bag. He decided he'd call Sanada later that night and work out the line up for the first match.

* * *

**A/N: So I was being a creep the other day, and I realize something: a lot of people have favorited or alerted this story and never reviewed. That's perfectly alright (I do the same sometimes), but if you have the chance to leave a review for this story, I'd be very appreciative.**


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59.**

Yukimura was lying on his bed, lazily tossing a tennis ball and catching it as he thought of his plans for the day. It was Saturday. Koga was working because the university student who was supposed to work got sick. There was no school. There was no practice. He forgot how boring life was.

He tossed the ball across the room where it landed by his tennis gear, and grabbed his cellphone off his nightstand. He dialed Sanada's number. When he didn't pick up, Yukimura called Sanada's home phone. Sanada lived above the dojo, but even when his mother picked up, Yukimura could still hear the sounds of people below.

"Hello, this is the Sanada residence. May I ask who's calling?"

"Hello, Sanada-san, this is Yukimura Seiichi."

"Oh, Yukimura-kun! I thought I heard Genchirou's phone going off. He hasn't been feeling well lately. Is this important?"

Yukimura frowned. Sanada couldn't be sick. There was less than a week before Regionals. Illness was not acceptable.

"Is he alright?"

"Yes, but he's been tired. I assumed it was stress, but I really don't know anymore," his mother admitted with a solemn tone. "After finishing his chores and responsibilities with the dojo, he spends most of his time in the garden meditating or in his room reading. He's always been a quiet boy, but it's strange from him to be _that_ quiet."

"Do you think it would be alright if I come over?" Yukimura asked.

After a pause, his mother said that would be alright. Yukimura thanked her and hung up. He looked at his phone, wondering what was up with Sanada. He'd been like that all year – tired, alone, separated. It was almost like he was depressed. It was as if he _was_ depressed.

Yukimura got out of bed, changed, and left a note on the fridge saying he was going out.

.

The first thing someone saw after walking into the Sanada Dojo was a wall of swords and diplomas that basically meant the entire family could easily kill people. Yukimura still smiled at that old memory in the back of his head, when he first came to Sanada's house and felt that uncharacteristic spike of fear in his stomach.

Yukimura tugged off his shoes, and turned towards a small hall with stairs that was concealed behind a sliding door. When he reached the upper floor, he spotted Sanada's mother watering plants that filled the small living room.

"Hello, Yukimura-kun," she said with a warm smile. She was a small woman and the complete opposite of Sanada – short, expressive, open minded, and was rarely seen scowling. "How about I bring you boys some tea later, hmm?"

"Thank you."

A quick bow later, and Yukimura was sliding the door to Sanada's bedroom open. The boy was lying on his futon, lazily rolling a ball in his hand. Yukimura wondered if he had looked that pathetic earlier. He certainly hoped not. Sanada looked weak, which shocked Yukimura because Sanada was not weak. Sanada was the strongest person he knew.

Yukimura closed the door behind him, and sat on the floor a few feet away from Sanada's futon. The vice captain sat up, rolling the tennis ball into the corner.

"I called earlier," Yukimura said. "Your mom says you're sick or something."

"Tired," Sanada corrected irritably. "Is there something you need? I thought we finalized the line up for the first round of the tournament yesterday."

"I can't visit?"

Sanada didn't respond.

Yukimura was officially confused. Sanada was cold. There was no way to avoid that obvious fact. But he was never antisocial. He preferred to be by himself from time to time, but he never turned down the company of Yanagi and Yukimura. They were friends. Sanada wasn't a rock. He was just distant.

But lately, he was a rock, and that scared Yukimura more than his first visit to the dojo had.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

Sanada was becoming irritated. It was the only emotion he seemed to show lately. Yukimura realized that Sanada was a very good liar. For someone with so much pride and self imposed morals, he certainly didn't care about telling the truth lately.

"Why aren't you looking me in the eye?" Yukimura asked. "Is this about Koga? Do you not like her? You also get mad when I talk about her or when she's at practice. Are you jealous?"

"It has nothing to do with her."

"Then what is it? Is it family? Renji moving to Italy? Something with university?" Yukimura hesitated before adding on the last one – "Are you depressed?"

Sanada remained silent.

"You're depressed?" Yukimura tried to keep his polite poker face on, but he never could around Yanagi or Sanada. He trusted them too much to pretend to be something he wasn't. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm not depressed."

Yukimura's mind was racing. What was he supposed to say? Didn't they say something about this in health class? Talking or something like that? Neither of them were very talkative people and had very different methods of dealing with things. Yukimura liked books; Sanada liked slicing things with sharp objects.

Was he suicidal? In health class they learned about suicide, about having to tell people to get them help. What about depression? They were taught how to help someone who was suicidal, but not someone who was heading in that direction. People only cared when things got bad, Yukimura realized. Until then, nobody cared.

What was he supposed to say? What _could_ he say?

Figuring he needed to say something, Yukimura asked, "Can we talk?"

"Talk?" Sanada repeated. "We don't talk. You order and I do as I'm told. I may be a rock, but I'm not to be treated as one."

"Don't call yourself a rock."

"Niou harasses me and you do nothing. I'm second to Renji and you, the genius and the prodigy. How am I not a rock? I get stepped on all the time. I don't see the difference."

Sanada was talking. That was progress, wasn't it? Yukimura didn't know. Sanada had dealt with him after his mother's death. For the life of him, Yukimura couldn't remember what the boy had said to make him see reason.

His mind told him to just keep talking.

"Gen –"

"You don't give a damn. You only care about yourself. The only reason you 'care' about others is if they're someone you need, one of your pawns. The team doesn't care either."

Yukimura stood up. He so badly wanted to yell and demand Sanada tell him what was wrong, why he didn't say anything before, why he didn't trust his best friend. Yukimura prevented himself from doing so. He didn't want to do something to screw up what little was left between him and his best friend.

"That's not true," Yukimura said softly. His eyes were locked on Sanada Genchirou.

"It's true. It's always been true."

Sanada Genchirou was dead serious; he honestly hated Yukimura Seiichi.

Yukimura's hands moved restlessly at his sides as he said, "You're the one who stayed with me for a month after my mother died because I refused to eat."

"I –"

"You're the one who sat at my bedside when I was in the hospital, hysterical because I thought I was going to die."

"Stop trying to –"

"You're the first one I invited to join my team because I trusted you. You're the one who listens when I want to talk. You're the one..." Yukimura let out a shaky breath. He hadn't been this worked up since someone told him he couldn't play tennis. The urge to scream bubbled back up, and he had to fight to keep it down as he said, "You're one of the few people I give a damn about."

Yukimura turned the soles of his feet and walked towards the door. He slid the door open, which surprised Sanada's mother, who was on the other side. She looked flustered. The tray in her hands had two cups of tea and a plate of sliced fruit.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"I'll be in the garden if that's alright, Sanada-san. I promise not to disturb anything." He looked over his shoulder at Sanada. "Meet me out there when you get around to it, okay?"

It wasn't an order from captain to subordinate. It was a request from friend to friend.

Yukimura walked around Sanada's mother, his shoulders heavy with blame.

.

Behind the dojo was an enormous garden. Ponds and small waterfalls twisted in and out of sand beds. Benches rested under the shade of willow trees that were bright green with new leaves. Yukimura sat on a patch of grass next to a koi pond, watching the fish move around.

Yukimura remembered how it took him three months to convince Sanada to call him "Seiichi." It had bothered Yukimura that the person he considered himself closest to didn't refer to him with his given name. Yukimura wondered if Sanada hated him then or not. He probably did. It would explain the amount of time it took to convince the boy.

Sanada Genchirou was the only reason he was still there. It hurt to know that Sanada resented him when he was so important to him. It hurt more than losing Nationals three years ago to a twelve year old, more than crashing down at the train station, more than his surgery, more than standing at his mother's funeral.

It hurt more than _anything_.

Yukimura tugged his legs against his chest and rested his chin on one of his knees. He tried to be kind, he really did. His mother always told him he was a kind boy. But it was hard to keep control and be kind. Sanada and Yanagi suffered from the worst of his venting, but Yukimura never knew it caused them so much distress. Was that why Yanagi had been worried about mentioning Italy? Yukimura felt even worse at the thought.

He made one of his friends depressed and the other afraid of him.

Yukimura heard familiar footsteps. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sanada sit next to him. Yukimura wondered what was going through Sanada's mind because he was drawing a blank. So they sat there silently for several minutes as they watched the koi move around the pond.

Yukimura couldn't stand the silence.

"Do you need help?" Yukimura asked. "I went to a psychiatrist when I was in the hospital. She's a good doctor. She knows –"

"I don't need fixing."

"Then how am I supposed to help?"

"I'm tired, not sick."

Yukimura turned his head, finally looking at Sanada. He looked the same, yet he was different. He wasn't the Sanada he knew.

"I told you I was tired six years ago. I told you I was fine when I wasn't eating. You didn't believe me. Do you honestly think I'm going to believe you when I know that people who need the most help lie because they want to appear strong? Being sad doesn't make you weak. It means you were strong for too long."

"I'm fine."

Yukimura looked back at the fish. "I'm not leaving."

Sanada didn't respond.

.

Later that night, Sanada found out Yukimura was dead serious about not leaving. Not only had Yukimura stayed for dinner, but his mother had set up a spare futon in his bedroom for him. Yukimura did most of the talking – Koga, school, tennis, those two first years, wondering how Yanagi was doing after his loss, wondering if Kirihara would keep challenging them – and Sanada listened. They didn't talk about him anymore. Sanada was glad.

While Yukimura was getting a shower, his phone beeped on his futon. Knowing he shouldn't, Sanada looked at it. It was a text message from Yanagi – _It's partially my fault as well. I should have realized he was in this state at an earlier time. Don't blame yourself. _

Sanada read through his old messages, and couldn't stop his eyes from widening at what he saw. Yukimura was always blunt to the point of harshness, even towards himself. It was then that Sanada realized Yukimura blamed himself for everything.

Sanada heard footsteps and put the phone back. Yukimura had managed to find a bag of clothes he left in Sanada's closet years ago for spontaneous sleepovers, and was wearing an old pair of sleep pants with tennis balls on them. He sat down on his futon, read Yanagi's message, and typed a response.

Twenty minutes later, the lights were out, and the two were lying silently on their futons. Neither seemed to be able to sleep. Yukimura's head ached from an avalanche of thoughts he was experiencing every two seconds. Sanada didn't sleep for no particular reason. Perhaps the realization of Yukimura admitting he did something wrong had shocked him – Yukimura never admitted his flaws or that he did something wrong.

That's just how Yukimura was, stubborn and strong and too proud for his own good.

Eventually, Sanada said, "You don't have to stay tomorrow."

"I'm staying, Genchirou."

"It's not your fault."

Silence. Then, "Yes, it is."

They stayed on their futons in silence, neither sleeping.

.

Yukimura left for his apartment on Sunday night. On Monday, Yukimura met up with Sanada and Yanagi on the streets before going to morning practice. Sanada was sipping at a cup of coffee. Yukimura took it from the vice captain's hand, replacing it with a cup he had brought himself.

"Seiichi –"

"It's tea. You like tea more than coffee, right?" Yukimura took a sip of the coffee he had just taken. It had just the right amount of cream. He smiled at Sanada, who took a sip of the tea, which was his favorite brand.

Yanagi said they had to hurry or they would be late for practice.

The three walked to practice, talking about nothing in particular. Yanagi mentioned something about Italy, which seemed to be the only thing he talked about. Yukimura didn't get mad. He just smiled and laughed when Sanada said what Yukimura had been thinking – "Renji, I think you're in love with a country."

When the three got to the locker room, there were only a few people inside. All of the regulars were there besides Kirihara. Yukimura and Sanada tossed their cups into the trash, and then headed to their lockers in the back.

Yukimura opened his locker, made a frustrated noise, and said, "I left my tennis bag in the office. Genchirou, get it for me."

Sanada simply sighed and walked towards the office. He opened the door, slightly surprised when he saw Kirihara sitting on the sofa in his tennis uniform. He closed the door behind him, ignoring the second year, assuming he wanted to talk to Yukimura. However, when Kirihara stood up, Sanada realized Yukimura had sent him in there on purpose.

"Fukubuchou. I – uh – err – you – I – _damn it_." The second year rubbed at the back of his head. "Thanks. For everything." He walked towards the door, head down, and grabbed the handle. "I'm still going to beat you to a pulp one day. So don't think I'm going to go easy on you. Definitely not going easy on you. See ya outside, Sanada-fukubuchou."

The second year walked outside, leaving Sanada blinking like a fool. Had Yukimura told the regulars? He must have. Kirihara didn't thank people. The others wouldn't do anything, though. Sanada knew that for sure. Kirihara was acting the part of the good kouhai. The others truly didn't care.

When he returned to locker room, he handed Yukimura his tennis bag, and opened his locker. He changed quickly, and headed outside for morning practice. Yukimura came out a few minutes later, and took over. Yanagi and Sanada sat on the hill, not talking, just sitting. The sight of Yukimura actually doing his job as captain was enough

.

That school day was boring for Sanada. He took a test that made his hand cramp. He sat there as the lunch bell rang, flexing his fingers, wondering if it would affect his tennis grip. He hoped not. After lunch, his chemistry partner spilled something green on him during lab; it wasn't the first time. Then he took a test that made his head ache.

After school was over, he went straight to afternoon practice. He didn't wait for Yukimura and Yanagi. He didn't want to them to treat him like a child. This is why he didn't tell them. Nothing was wrong. Being treated like he was nothing was normal for him. He didn't want them to start acting differently. He liked them as they were, whether he was hurt because of it or not.

When he reached the locker room, Niou and Yagyuu were inside. Once Sanada reached his locker, Yagyuu closed the locker room door, and Niou walked over to him. Sanada turned, instinctively catching whatever it was that Niou tossed at him when he did so.

It was a gold crown like a prom king would get. It had little jewels and shined, and would make him look like a fool if he wore it. Maybe it was rigged to explode. That was the only logically explanation Sanada could think of.

"You win Prank IV. Congrats, you're the Prank King," Niou said as he slipped his hands into his uniform pant pockets. Sanada looked at the crown, and then at Niou, still half expecting the piece of plastic to explode. "Don't act like you don't know, Sanada. Tricking yourself into thinking we don't care about you." Niou whistled. "Damn, that's good. Even I couldn't believe that. Best prank ever. Well, second to the time I stuck a radio in the locker room ceiling with 'Go, Go Seigaku' on repeat."

Niou turned. Yagyuu had reopened the door, and several confused members walked in, mumbling something about how the door was never locked in the afternoon. When Niou reached the door, he leaned against the wall.

"Since when does Prank King exist?" Yagyuu asked, standing in front of his partner. He didn't sound condescending like he usually did after Niou's jokes.

"Since Yukimura texted me and told me to stop being a" – he pulled out his phone to check it – "'gigantic jerk to Genchirou.'"

He closed his phone. Yagyuu smiled gently. "You did something nice."

"Huh. I did. I better fix that." Niou kicked away from the wall, walked around Yagyuu towards Sanada, and pulled on his collar. Sanada turned around. "I'm skipping practice. Thought I'd let you know in advance. I'm also planning on miscounting any punishment laps you give me tomorrow. Oh, and screw you for winning Prank War. I'm taking that to my grave."

Niou turned and left.

Later, Sanada avoided answering why there was a crown in his locker.

Things would go back to normal tomorrow, Sanada knew that.

Niou would raise hell. Yagyuu would help Niou. Kirihara would ignore him and run. Marui would probably sneak in gum. Jackal would trip Marui more than once. Urayama would be sneaking snacks with Oyama. Yanagi would talk about Italy. Yukimura would talk about Koga and order him around.

Then again, perhaps normal wasn't so bad. Sanada truly wouldn't mind a little more normal.

* * *

**A/N: Perhaps it's a bit anticlimactic considering all the build up, but I think I did alright with it. I tried to make it seem real, but I've never been in that situation. I have random spurts of really, really bad depression, but I'm not a constant depression sufferer, so it was hard to write Sanada's responses because I've never talked seriously to anyone about it. **

**Also, thank you to my anonymous reviewers from the last chapter :)  
**


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60.**

Niou packed for Atobe's boat trip in the morning. He shoved a swimsuit into a gym bag along with a few other things. As he tugged on a neon polo, he remembered it was an all day trip. He tossed a box of fire crackers into his bag in case he got bored.

Sato would be there. Niou figured she was boring half of the time. When he first met her, she was interesting. Now she was... A friend? Niou made a face at the thought as he tugged on khaki shorts. He was friends with Suzuki (sort of), which was weird because he was not friends with girls. Girls were more likely than not annoying unless they were kissing you or could play tennis. Suzuki was like a dude, so she was okay. Sato, however, was a girl through and through.

Niou slid down the railing of his house, grabbed his car keys out of a dish at the bottom, and slipped on a pair of flip flops. He walked outside, groaned when he realized it was still dark, and wondered why the hell he was going on a boat with Atobe in a non-shark-infested area (he had checked).

But Sato.

Niou slid into the Niou Mobile, set the coordinates for the dock on his GPS, turned on some jazz, and drove.

.

The sun had risen by the time Niou had arrived. He sat on a bench, and completely ignored the girl who sat next to him. Her name was Fujiwara. She was the daughter of some big tycoon. She seemed fond of the color pink and showing the majority of her thigh. Niou had a rule that he believed all girls should follow: if you dress barely covers your butt, it's a shirt and requires pants. Fujiwara was in a shirt and did not have on pants.

Others showed up, but Fujiwara didn't leave. She did her make-up while Niou text-bombed Marui just for the hell of it. Sato was one of the last to show up. She walked over in a loose shirt and jean shorts, told Niou she had to talk to him about something later, and then left. Fujiwara stopped putting on her lipstick.

"You dating her?" she asked.

Niou didn't turn his head. "Nope." He sent Marui another text message. Then five more after that.

Atobe and his gang were the last to show up. He rolled up in a limo, walked out, and was followed by all the regulars. Akutagawa looked particularly excited considering it was still early and he spent half his time sleeping. He even had his pants on. It must have been a good day for him.

Atobe and Kabaji wandered over, and everyone followed. Niou hung in the back, was joined by Sato, and wondered why all the Hyotei regulars were invited. Usually, Atobe only invited Akutagawa, Mukahi, Oshitari, and Kabaji. Shishido, Ohtori, and Hiyoshi were a rare site. But no one else questioned it so Niou didn't say anything because he was already _that_ guy and he didn't want to be_ that_ weirdo.

Atobe made a speech, but all Niou heard was blah-blah-blah. Sato smiled at Niou's mute imitation of the Hyotei captain. Atobe led them a little ways down the dock, which housed the vast collection of yachts that the Atobe's owned. The newest one, which they would be taking, was as large as the others. It had a few decks, blindingly white sides, an unoriginal name painted on the side, a few servants dressed in funky sea outfits, and turned-off lights hung up everywhere.

Niou just followed the crowd. As the seventy or so teenagers boarded the boat, they were handed a piece of paper by a man. Niou studied the map, realizing they held room assignments as well. He looked at the rest of the map, wondering how many bars a boat needed. Then he wondered why a boat needed a laser tag room, a full tennis court, and an aquarium. It didn't make sense.

Then again, what did Atobe ever do that made sense?

Nothing.

They went one floor down to find their rooms. Niou's was in the middle of the hall, and he hoped Atobe couldn't find some poor soul he hated enough to assign to his room. However, Niou wasn't that lucky.

When Niou opened the door to suite he was assigned, he saw Mukahi sorting out the contents of his bag. Niou set his gym bag on the other bed, and sat down. It smelled like new-boat, roses, and mint. It made Niou's stomach twist uncomfortably.

"You better not get sea sick," Mukahi said. "And if you do, puke on your stuff, not mine."

"How badly did you piss Atobe off to get stuck rooming with me?" Niou asked bluntly.

"We drew straws. Yuushi cheated, so I got the short one."

Niou smirked. "You know, you can tell which one's the shortest by how the person's fingers curl."

Mukahi rolled his eyes. "Oh, look at you, Mr. Genius." Mukahi tugged off his shirt, which is when Niou realized he was wearing swim trunks. "I'm going to the pool deck. Seriously, though, don't puke on my stuff."

And with that, Mukahi left the new-boat-smelling room with a swagger only a Hyotei student could possess.

Niou looked at his map, examining the pool deck. It consisted of two water slides that allowed people to race, a rock wall, a surfing thing, and two pools.

Maybe, just maybe this party wouldn't be as bad as all the others.

.

It was as bad as all the others.

Mukahi had returned to his room as quickly as he had left. He lied down on his bed, muttered something about having to wait for the boat to reach some point away from shore, and then pulled out his phone. Niou sat on his bed, smirked when Marui sent him an angry message _–_ _you bastard you woke me up!_ _–_ and waited for the captain to come over the intercom to say they could exit their suites.

After that, Niou changed into his swimsuit and headed for the pool deck with his gym bag, which had his phone and the map because he was bound to get lost on that monster of a boat. He wondered around for a bit until he found a set of lounge chairs that weren't taken by girls in skimpy bikinis or guys trying to impress girls.

He stretched out underneath an umbrella, an arm covering his eyes. Then, Sato Ree sat down in the lounge chair next to him in a strapless one-piece. Niou didn't bother sitting up.

"Why aren't you running around squealing like all the other girls who get a drop of water on them?" Niou asked dully.

"Because I have a brain," she answered. She set her bag next to his and lied down. "I heard there is going to be a live band later."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"Then I don't care."

"Whatever you say, Bond."

"Alright then, Spade."

They were near the pool, but the noise didn't bother them. They didn't talk, but the chatter of the people splashing each other and sliding down the slides filled the silence. The Hyotei regulars were no where to be found. Eventually, Niou spotted them toasting with something on the half deck that looked down on the pool deck. Atobe and Kabaji weren't there. Niou saw them ten minutes later walking around, mingling.

It wasn't until a waiter came around asking for breakfast orders did Niou realize it was nearly ten, that he hadn't eaten, and that he was starving. He ordered something off a menu he was handed (nearly everything had powdered sugar or syrup), and Sato did the same. Three minutes later, they were brought flutes of orange juice. The waiter even brought a table for them to eat at. Atobe even made breakfast fancy.

Niou took a picture of the sugary monster of a meal he ordered for breakfast and sent it to Marui.

.

The table was taken away and replaced by a small stand with fruit smoothies. An hour later, Niou asked for French fries, which earned him a strange look from the waiter (like rich kids couldn't like fries), but he was eventually given the best damn fries in the world.

Sato read for two hours without saying a word. It was a nonfiction book to boot. Niou didn't understand history or literature. He preferred numbers, logic, facts. So he slept while she read. Until someone sat at the bottom on his chair, their wet thighs pressing against his bare feet.

Niou sat up, opening his eyes. Fujiwara.

"Ni." She smiled at him, obviously trying to flirt. Her bikini was pink like her shirt-dress and equally skimpy. Her hair was so perfectly messy it made Niou wondered how much gel she used. More than him and Kirihara combined, that's for sure.

"It's Niou."

"I know. Ni sounds cuter and it's less syllables."

"I see," Niou said. Sato smirked, using her book to cover her lips. Niou still saw. He smiled at Fujiwara, mocking her without her even realizing it. "And is there something you want?"

"Mukahi and Oshitari started a game of chicken with that blond boy, but I need a partner." She smiled, leaning forward and placing her hands between his legs. "You play sports, right? I mean, it looks like you do. I'm sure you can hold me up."

"Not my thing," Niou said. He grabbed a fry and popped it into his mouth.

"Come on! It'll be fun!"

Niou didn't have much of a choice when she grabbed his wrist. He could either yank his arm away and be a jerk or humor her for half an hour and "accidentally" kick some Hyotei regulars in their jewels. Niou liked the second option.

When they came to the pool edge, Fujiwara turned and pushed him in. When he resurfaced, Fujiwara jumped in next to him. Then she moved behind him so she could get on his shoulders, pressing her chest against his back. Niou turned, pretending to see where he should put his hands so he could grab her feet and help. In reality, he looked at Sato, who ate one of his fries.

"Ni, push me up," Fujiwara said. Her lips were against his ear. Gross.

He grabbed her feet and pushed her up until she was on his shoulders. She was light. Really light. Niou doubted she was a healthy weight. He looked around at the other players to pick a strategy to get this done with as soon as possible.

"Come on, Ni, let's go!"

"I'm not a damn horse..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

.

Niou lost the game when Oshitari decided to become a kamikaze and tossed Mukahi at Fujiwara and him. Niou hit the water hard, but not as hard as Mukahi. Niou spit out water when he resurfaced. If Oshitari didn't play tennis, he probably would have joined the baseball team. That boy could throw.

He slipped out of the water when Fujiwara wasn't paying attention. One of the servants had placed a fluffy white towel on his chair, which he quickly wrapped around his shoulders. He sat down, frowned when he realized half his fries were gone, and then glared at a smiling Sato.

"Very funny," Niou muttered. "I had some girl trying to push down my swim trunks with her feet for twenty minutes and you repay me for my troubles by eating my fries?"

"I actually eat, unlike Fujiwara."

Niou rolled his eyes, but he had to agree with her. He settled down into his chair, deciding he needed to talk to Sato to avoid another one of Fujiwara's ambushes.

"So what is it you needed to tell me?" Niou asked. "You decide you're in love me with, Spade? You know you should never mix work with pleasure."

She turned the page of her book. "It can wait. I'll tell you after dinner."

Niou decided he didn't like that answer. But instead of expressing his thoughts like a normal human, he sat up and shook his head like a dog in her general direction. She barely managed to raise her book in time to prevent it from getting wet.

"I'll get you next time," Niou said as he lied back down.

She lowered her book back down, skimming the page for her spot. "Yes, Bond, I'm sure you will. However, I believe someone is looking for you."

"Ni!"

Niou groaned. "Kill me."

"As much as I would love to, I'm certain that would get me at least a few years in jail. My dad's not that good."

Niou stood up, then removed his towel and the book from Sato's hands. He grabbed her wrist, and dragged her to the pool as Fujiwara had earlier. He jumped in, pulling her with him.

When they resurfaced, Niou grinned. Sato moved her long hair out of her face, revealing her smile.

That certainly shut up Fujiwara.

.

Niou was just about to head to the rock wall when Atobe came on the intercom and announced that lunch would be held in Dining Hall One in twenty minutes. Niou headed back to his room and changed back into his neon polo and khaki shorts, and then headed off for the dining hall.

The room was large with dark wood floors, plush red chairs, and round tables covered in white cloth. There didn't appear to be a seating chart, so Niou sat down at an empty table. The Hyotei regulars sat together, but Atobe stood up to talk to the others when more and more people began to arrive.

Sato, who had changed into a sun dress, sat down next to him. Fujiwara sat on his other side and began playing footsies with him. Niou asked Sato to move over a seat, but she refused. When a boy sat down next to Sato, Niou figured he was trapped.

Someone had begun to play a piano. The music was soft and moved around the room. Fujiwara asked if he wanted to dance, but Niou was too busy trying to find something on the menu that wasn't pure sugar to listen. Why the heck made the menus anyways? A four year old on a sugar high?

Slowly, the piano music turned into something more upbeat. It was a mix of jazz and pop, which Niou didn't all together hate.

"Come on, Ni," Fujiwara said. "The food won't be here for, like, twenty minutes. Let's dance."

"I don't dance."

Sato looked at Niou. She gave him a strange look. Niou bet she was recalling the first night they met, when he had danced with and twirled her to a broken record at Atobe's mansion.

"Ni." Fujiwara's voice made Niou look away from Sato and back at her. She put a hand on his thigh, and tilted her head. "Please?"

Niou wanted to ask why she didn't bother someone else, but he didn't. He took a sip of his strawberry lemonade, and didn't answer her question.

"I'll dance with you," the boy sitting next to Sato said.

Fujiwara forced a smile. "Sure."

The two left to join a group of dancers.

Niou looked around the room. He recognized a majority of the people, but there were many he didn't. They were probably Hyotei students of some sort, but Niou couldn't place them. Perhaps they were in the tennis club?

"This is an interesting party," Sato commented. "It's pretty over the top, even for Atobe. I doubt boats are meant to have water slides. I walked into a room with laser tag. This place is more ridiculous than Louis XIV's palace."

That's when it hit Niou. The party was over the top, even for Atobe. It was just as extravagant as the party Atobe had thrown for Kabaji.

Niou glanced at the regulars. Atobe had sat in the chair next to Akutagawa, who tried to convince him to eat a chocolate covered strawberry. At Atobe's last party, Akutagawa had eaten an entire plate of those. Niou thought about it _–_ the regulars being invited, the sweets, the pop music, the water slides, the ridiculous rooms, and the games. Akutagawa's birthday was May fifth, a tournament day.

The entire trip was a birthday party for Akutagawa.

It didn't take an idiot to realize Atobe liked attention, but it took a lot more to realize he wasn't a jerk.

Niou took a sip of his strawberry lemonade. "It's not that bad of a party."

.

After escaping the ever-present Fujiwara, Niou had a go at the rock wall. Once he was done creaming every non-athletic rich boy, he began his search for the Velcro wall.

His phone buzzed with a text from Marui, which gave him an idea. He pulled the device out of his pocket, and typed back, not even reading Marui's sure-to-be whiny message _–_ _call Akutagawa and you're prank-free for a month._

He continued to walk, eventually finding the room labeled 'rec room' on the map. It had ramps for bikes, basketball hoops, padding on every surface, a mini-bungee jump, and a Velcro wall. The Hyotei regulars were huddled in the corner. Atobe and Kabaji stood with their backs against the wall while others sat and talked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Niou saw Akutagawa answer his phone with a squeal that sounded vaguely like "Marui!"

Well, his good deed for the day was done.

.

Niou wondered around the majority of the afternoon. He tried the water slide once or twice (or five times), snacked on another plate of fries, and talked with Sato on the main deck by the pool under the sun.

It was actually fun.

Atobe came on the intercom, announcing dinner would be held in half an hour. Everyone groaned because that meant retiring to their rooms getting dressed up. Despite the temptation to just stay by the pool, the teenagers hauled themselves down to their rooms.

Mukahi had beaten Niou to their suite, and had laid out slacks and a shirt on the bed. He was still digging through his bag, probably for shoes. When Niou closed the door behind him, Mukahi looked at him.

"Don't think I'm going to be sweet to you for what you did for Jirou."

Niou raised an eyebrow, lazily walking over to his gym bag. "No idea what you're talking about."

"Like hell Marui knew it was his birthday."

"It's Akutagawa's birthday?"

Niou acted surprised, and it must have been pretty convincing because Mukahi went back to his bag. Niou smirked. He still had it.

"So Fujiwara's trying to get in your pants," Mukahi stated. Niou rolled his eyes, beginning to change into his dress shirt and pants. Mukahi kept blabbering on. "She only goes after guys with girlfriends. She does it 'cause she likes to prove to other girls she's better."

"I'm not dating Sato," Niou said. "I told Fujiwara I'm not dating her."

"Obviously she didn't believe you." Mukahi let out an "ah-ha!" when he found his shoes. He began to change, still talking. "You and Sato are a good match. You both hate people, and you're both members of the Smart Ass Club."

"We're not together."

"Riiight."

Niou finished the last button on his shirt, not bothering to tuck the bottom in. He shoved his phone and ipod into his pocket, and then looked through his bag. He found a pack of firecrackers, smirked, and shoved them into his back pocket. Then he headed out the room towards the dinning hall.

He heard footsteps behind him, and thought they were Mukahi's. When an arm was hooked with his, he realized the footsteps belonged to Fujiwara.

"Care to escort a lady?"

"I would, but I don't see a lady to escort."

Fujiwara laughed, like Niou was flirting, and began walking even closer to him. "Come on, Ni."

"That's not my name."

"Can I call you Masaharu?"

"No."

She tugged him down a turn they weren't supposed to take. Back pressed to the wall, Niou looked down at her. It was strange looking down at a girl. Sato was nearly his height, and he didn't have to crane his neck to look at her. Looking at Fujiwara literally hurt.

"Why not? _Sato?_" she asked, hands on his chest. "You know, she really isn't as great as you think. She might have a brain, but it's pointless. You don't need to marry a smart girl. Your marriage will be for looks and looks alone. Marrying the daughter of a famous business man would surely be enough to please your father. But Sato? She's the daughter of a lawyer. Hardly status enough to marry a Niou."

In that moment, Niou decided he hated her. Fujiwara was the result of the twisted lifestyle of the rich. She was a mindless girl who did what she was told, who wanted money, who didn't care about the feelings of others.

Niou grabbed her wrists, gently moving her to the side. He let go of her wrists and walked away.

He didn't want a girl like that.

.

The band was setting up in the dinning hall when Niou arrived. Most of the tables were full, friends gathered around, talking and laughing. Niou spotted Sato sitting down at an empty table in a black dress, and sat across from her. Out of the corner of his eye, Niou saw Fujiwara sit at a table next to some boy, who smiled back at her.

They didn't talk. They placed their orders to a waiter, and listened to the band. They were an upbeat group, but Niou wouldn't call it pop. It had half the people in the room up and dancing. Fujiwara was dancing with someone, his hands on her hips. Niou looked at Sato, who was swirling the water in her glass idly.

"Do you want to dance, Spade?" Niou asked, not sure why the thought came to him.

"I thought you didn't dance, Bond."

He put a finger to his lips. When he removed it, he was smiling. "We're undercover, Spade. We have to play the part."

"Then I would love to."

He stood up, took her hand, and led her to the dance floor. He spun her, and then pulled her close. He moved with a smoothness that seemed to flow with the music. He threw in an occasional embarrassing shimmy or random dip that made no sense, but Sato didn't seem to care.

They pulled apart when the song ended, clapping. Then, the band began to play another song, something slower. Niou gave her a look, as if asking if she wanted to sit. She answered by wrapping her arms around his neck. He slid his hands onto her hips, gently rocking back and forth with the music.

"You know," Niou began, whispering, "I have firecrackers."

"Is that a codeword?"

"No, I really do. Want to see if we can toss them into Atobe's hair?"

She pressed her face into his neck, laughing. She pulled away a second later and smiled. "Do you have a lighter?"

"There's candles at the table. I call it Operation Douche Bag on Fire."

She nodded, just barely, as she slid her arms away from him and back to her sides. He grabbed one of her hands, leading her back to the table as casually as possible. Since half the people there thought they were dating, it wasn't that hard.

When they sat, Niou reached into his back pocket. It was a square the size of his palm, the fuse sticking out the end. Niou ordered Sato to keep watch, and waited. When the song ended, the group of dancers turned to face the band and clap. Niou stuck the fuse into the flame, and then stood up.

He chucked the firecracker across the dinning hall, sitting back down immediately. It landed in the middle of the table the Hyotei regulars were sitting out. Mukahi and Shishido were the only ones focused enough to notice it; they ducked under the table as though their lives depended on it.

What followed was several small pops, Atobe standing up so quickly he spilled water on his pants, and Niou and Sato trying their best not to laugh.

.

What happened after Operation Douche Bag on Fire was a very tame dinner with the Hyotei regulars glaring at Niou. Niou didn't feel bad. If anything, he felt proud. The tales of the Trickster had spread to Hyotei.

After eating, the captain came on to announce the passengers had one hour before they needed to return to their rooms so the boat could return to the dock.

Niou and Sato wandered through the boat, talking about nothing in particular. When Niou mentioned a dinosaur, Sato went off on how she wrote an entire paper about _Godzilla_ being a metaphor for nuclear warfare. Niou had never thought history could be so interesting.

As they headed back to their rooms, a little voice reminded Niou of something.

"What do you need to tell me?" he asked.

"It can wait," Sato said, obviously avoiding it. "When we get back to the dock. I'll tell you then, Bond. This is my room."

Sato opened the suite door, and walked inside, not looking at him.

Niou slipped his hands into his pockets and headed towards his room. He could think of a million things Sato needed to tell him, but none of them seemed realistic. Sato didn't avoid things. She was blunt to the point of harshness. The only thing Niou knew for certain was that something wasn't right.

When he entered his room, he saw Mukahi lying on his bed with a 3DS. The red head looked up from his game, glaring at the Rikkaidai student.

"Firecrackers. _Really?_"

Niou lied down on his bed. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Mukahi went back to his game, but not before muttering, "Jackass."

Niou pulled out his phone, figuring he might as well bother Marui some more before the boat returned to shore.

.

The sun had set by the time the boat returned to the dock. The lights that had been strung up were on, making the ship look like a giant star in the night. Atobe stood on the dock, thanking and saying goodbye to everyone as they left.

Slowly, car after car began to leave. Niou and Sato sat on the end of the dock, feet dangling over the side, but no where near the water. They waited until everyone but them had left.

Niou stood up, holding out his hand to help her. Once she was up, they began to walk towards their cars. Niou was waiting, waiting for her to talk and just spit it out already. Eventually, he got fed up with waiting.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her to a stop. She looked down slightly, her long hair falling over her shoulders. Niou gently placed his middle finger under her chin and pushed it up. Once she was looking at him, he slipped his hands into his pockets.

"So? What is it?"

Sato brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I finish my semester in a week, and then I'm flying to America to take a summer course. I won't be returning until the fall semester."

Niou showed his shock for the briefest of moments before his mask was back. "And? Am I supposed to give a big speech? That's not my thing, Spade."

Her mask shattered at his words. For once, Niou could see her for what she truly was. Just some girl stuck in a life she didn't want, trying to act perfect because she had to prove so much to so many because of her name, because she was a girl, because she was supposed to be perfect.

She was fighting what Fujiwara had accepted.

"I thought _–_ " Her mask came back. "I assumed someone with a big head like you would get mad if you didn't hear directly from me."

"Yeah, well, that would be true if I cared," he said smoothly. He slipped his hands into his pockets. "So. America. That's cool."

"It's a good opportunity. My senior thesis is on the variations of republic systems, and how the people are truly in control," she said. Niou gave her a blank look; he never liked history or politics. "It makes sense to study a government 'by the people' in the largest democratic state in the world. Besides, traveling is better than staying here and getting married."

"Am I supposed to understand that?"

She looked as though she regretted saying that. "It's nothing."

"It appears as though we've never going to speak again. If we are, it won't be for a very long time. Come on, Spade, you're smart for a girl. You know it doesn't matter whether or not you tell me. Things are screwed up. What's the harm in one more screwy bit?"

She ran a hand through her long hair. "It's not exactly a secret. I'm a woman. According to my mother, I don't need a career. She says I should settle down and give her grandchildren. You can imagine how that went over."

"You threw the biggest hissy fit in history?"

She laughed softly. "More or less."

Niou gave a half shrug. "You should do whatever you want, though. It's your life. Screw everyone else."

"Wise words."

"Do you know who said them?" Niou asked. She gave him a look. "Tsk, tsk. The genius Samantha Spade doesn't know a quote?"

"Then who said them, Mr. James Bond?"

"A smart guy. Niou Masaharu."

"I think I met him at this party once. I liked that Niou guy. Then again, love is overrated."

"Love's just complicated. Too complicated for a monkey brain like you to understand."

"Then I pity an imbecile like you. Love's probably too complicated for you to recognize."

"Looks like we're both screwed."

He gave her a lopsided smile, which made her smile.

"I should go," she said. "I have class tomorrow."

"Yeah, me too."

He followed her to her car. She fished her keys out of her bag, and he took them, twirling them like they were his own. He unlocked the car and opened the door for her. She rolled her eyes, slid inside, closed the door. Then, she rolled down the window, put her hand out.

"The keys?"

He leaned forward, arms crossed on the open window, one hand wrapped tightly around her car keys, his head half in her car. He gave her a Trickster grin. "What will I get in exchange?"

She smiled, and Niou felt his stomach do something funny that it wasn't meant to do. She turned in her seat, put a hand on his cheek, and pressed her lips fully against his. Their eyes closed, all thoughts of her strength and his pride gone.

He slanted his mouth against hers, deepening the gentle kiss into something more. He lifted one of his arms, sliding a hand into her long hair, twisting his fingers into her and holding her there like he never, ever wanted to let go.

Finally, the fingers on his cheek curled back into her palm. She pulled away, his hand still in her hair.

"Keys," she said, staring straight into his eyes.

He handed her the keys.

She turned in her seat, his hand sliding out of her hair. She turned on the car, then she gave him a considerate look, debating what to say in that complicated, busy mind of hers. Eventually, she settled on, "See you later, Niou."

He smirked. His name. She had to think about saying that instead of Bond? That probably meant something. If it was literature, it would definitely mean something. But this wasn't a story. This was real life, and things didn't have deeper meanings.

"I doubt that, Spade."

He closed the door and walked away. He had never been very good at good-byes. He never had someone he had to say good-bye to. He listened to her car drive away until he was left on the silent dock. He stared at his feet as he walked to his car, thinking about nothing and everything.

"That's that," Niou whispered into the night.

He stuck his hands in his pockets, waltzed over to his car, and drove home.

He never really cared about that girl until someone else did. He only cared when he saw other boys looking at her. He only cared when she casually smiled at a stranger even though she rarely smiled around him. He only cared when she stopped trying to catch his eye with her little tricks.

The earth didn't move when she walked in. His heart didn't skip a beat when she looked at him. When he couldn't sleep, she was never the reason why. He had no reason to like her, but sometimes he thought about her, Samantha Spade, the girl he couldn't figure out.

All this time, he thought he was messing with her, showing her the Trickster couldn't be played with. In the end, it was him who got played.

Damn that Sato Ree.

* * *

**A/N: I have been debating for a long time what to do with Sato. After giving it some thought and discussing it with Temari and several others, I decided to end her portion here. ****That's not to say she wouldn't be referenced or have a short cameo (maybe a phone call or something later), but she's basically gone.**

**She just doesn't fit in this story. And, to be perfectly honest, she is different from the character I meant her to be. The character I had in my head didn't come out right. If you want to know what she was meant to be, go re-read that part about being stuck in a world she didn't want to be in. Basically, Sato was above my skill level to right, and writing her became a hassle. **

**That's all I have to say on the topic.**

**Also, I know these chapters have been random. The next few chapters are tennis heavy with a lot of focus on canon characters and more consistent plot-wise. Once Kanto Regionals are done, the story will go back to it's randomness.**

**On another note, I posted a one-shot a few days ago called "Sober." It's this future fic where Kirihara is schizophrenic and has some major problems. Happy ending guaranteed :)  
**


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61.**

After the last practice before the tournament, the regulars headed off in their different groups. Marui and Jackal thought about asking Kirihara if he wanted to tag along with them to Comet Café, but they decided against it. After all, Kirihara was probably having one of his "secret" meetings with An or hanging out with his little gang. It was funny how he thought no one knew about him and An. In reality, everyone knew.

With a plate full of scones and cups of hot chocolate in their hands, the two sat down at a table. Jackal set the scones in the middle of the table, and Marui promptly attacked them with his mouth.

"You're going to get sick," Jackal warned.

Marui shrugged, and shoved a chocolate chip scone into his mouth. As he chewed, he dipped another into his hot chocolate.

"Regionals," Jackal said simply. Marui nodded. "We should probably be practicing." Marui shrugged. "Are you gonna to talk at all?" Marui shook his head. Jackal sighed. "You're impossible."

"Improbable," Marui said, mouth half-full. "There's a difference."

"Anyone who knew you would know you're not a genius."

"I am too!" Marui protested. He shoved another scone in his mouth, nearly choking.

Jackal nodded. "Yup. Definitely a genius."

Marui rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his drink so he didn't choke again. Not that he had choked in the first place. Geniuses didn't choke. You didn't see Sherlock Holmes choking, and you definitely didn't see Marui Bunta choking.

Jackal grabbed a raspberry scone and turned it around in his hands. "Wanna try and think of a move?"

"Foodgasming. Can't think when my tummy is full of yummies."

"How exactly does Suzuki deal with you?" Jackal followed the question by taking a bite of his scone.

"She loves me." Jackal gave him a look. Marui choked. He took another sip of hot chocolate, and then gave Jackal a 'ya-serious?' look. "Dude. That's just _sick_. Stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"Like you think I like her," Marui said. "I meant love. Not_ love._ She totally digs Ito."

"I'm not gossiping about someone I don't know that well," Jackal said before finishing off his scone. Once he was able to speak again, he said, "Tennis move?"

"Foodgasm." Jackal kicked him. Marui frowned and reached under the table with his hand that wasn't holding a scone to rub at his knee. "Geez. Don't get violent. Just learn a new Snake."

"We're not having this conversation again."

"Fine." Marui rolled his eyes. "And you think _I'm_ the impossible one. Do you really need a move?"

"What?"

"I mean, maybe you don't need a move," Marui said. "Doubles is like getting two face cards in blackjack; sometimes you need that ace, and sometimes you don't. It all depends on the dealer's hand."

"But you can't see the dealer's hand."

"And that's where luck comes in. Or a pocket ace. One or the other."

Jackal sighed. "I can't believe we're using blackjack as a metaphor."

"Would you rather me use scones? 'Cause I will."

Jackal sighed again.

.

After several suggestions and lewd remarks from Niou, Yagyuu and Niou decided to go to one of Atobe's tennis clubs. It was the same club they visited some months before. It seemed even more futuristic than before, and just like last time, Yagyuu became uncomfortably aware of the differences between Niou and he.

Niou fished out his membership card to show to the woman at the front desk. With a cold look, she examined the card. She thought Niou was a freak. A boy who could have a full membership card to an Atobe building had to have connections. Obviously those kinds of people didn't look like Niou. At least, they _shouldn't_ look like Niou.

"Sorry for the wait, Niou-san," she said coldly. "Please enjoy your stay. Have you nice day."

She held the card out for him. Niou made to grab it, but let it fall from his fingers. He slid it towards his side of the counter with his middle finger. Then, he smoothly slipped the card into his pocket.

"Have a nice day," Niou replied with a sickly sweet smile.

When Niou turned to walk towards the locker rooms, his smile disappeared. He really hated the secretaries who judged him based on looks alone.

The two walked to the locker room with the electronic space-like lockers in dead silence. Yagyuu changed into his Rikkaidai uniform, but Niou changed into a neon green polo and black shorts so no one recognized him. He wasn't some big celebrity that everyone would recognize, but it would be annoying if the little rich boys playing with their rich daddies knew who he was. The last thing he needed was for Hyotei brats to recognize him at tournaments.

Niou slung a label-free tennis bag over his shoulder. He kicked the locker shut just because he could, and began the long walk to the tennis courts. When they arrived at the numerous indoor courts, Niou set his things on a backless bench next to the last empty court. There were more people present than the last time they had come.

"Hiroshi, I'm warning ya now, but I'm pissed as hell," Niou said as they walked onto the courts. "Expect a ball or two to be aimed at your head."

Yagyuu sighed. "Of course, Niou-kun."

The two played for an hour, but it wasn't like it usually was. Half of Niou's shots went out or hit the net. Another member came over to offer a suggestion, which was when Niou tossed his racquet to the ground and stormed off. Yagyuu jumped over the net, half-assed an apology to the man, and rushed after Niou. He reached the rich boy on the platform running above the pool.

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu said, tugging Niou around. Niou ripped his arm away from Yagyuu's grasp. Yagyuu sighed. "Niou-kun, don't begin this again."

"Begin what?"

"Acting like you did back in junior high."

Niou remained silent for a moment. He remembered how he used to be **–** manipulative, distant, cold. He knew he had changed over the years, learned to trust people easier, learned to joke around and laugh.

It was Sato who came in and screwed everything up. He trusted her and learned to laugh with her. He thought he could call her a friend. Then, she left. And things were back to how they used to be. To how things were before he met her, as though she had never entered his life.

It was great. It was horrible.

It was her fault.

Niou slipped his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "I'm pissed at people like this. They're jerks who lie and get close others just to toss them to the side. I'm going to punch someone if I hear another word from their mouths. So let's just leave."

Yagyuu knew not to press his luck and ask why Niou was madder at the upper class than usual. So instead he waited for Niou to turn towards the locker room. They changed into their school uniforms, Niou checking his phone while he waited for Yagyuu to put on his shoes.

No new messages. Nothing from Sato. He wondered why he cared.

"Niou-kun?"

Niou closed his phone. "What?"

"I said, thank you for allowing me to come here. I don't have the chance to play on nice courts besides during tournaments."

"Don't let Yukimura hear you say that. He loves those courts more than his girlfriend."

Then, it hit him. He was smiling with Yagyuu. He trusted his friend. Would Niou be left for something better one day? Would it be Sato all over again? Sato was just a girl. Girls he could get over. Yagyuu was practically his brother. Yagyuu was the one person he trusted completely.

"Do you think we would be friends if it wasn't for tennis?" Niou asked.

After a pause that was far too long to be good, Yagyuu said, "No. I don't believe we would."

Niou didn't like that answer. They weren't playing tennis after high school. Instead of expressing his concern, he changed the subject just because.

"Anyways, wanna head to Sweet Treats?" Niou asked. "I'll pay. You can get something for Naomi."

Yagyuu tossed his bag over his shoulder. "Sure."

.

Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi decided to go to X-Treme. Not only did it give him a chance to hang out, it gave them an opportunity to get new grip tape for their racquets (Yukimura's father insisted Sanada and Yanagi didn't have to pay, but Yukimura did). After getting their grip tape and sharing a laugh with Yukimura's father, they headed into the back room.

Yukimura lied down on the sofa, grabbing a book from his school bag. Yanagi sat on a bean bag chair, also retrieving a book. Sanada lied down on the day bed, and covered his face with his hat.

"Genchirou," Yuimura said, spotting Sanada. "Are you alright?"

"Tired."

"I apologize for making you get the ball from the tree," Yukimura said, immediately feeling guilty. Ever since Sanada admitted to being depressed, which had happened several days after constant pestering from Yukimura, Yukimura was hypersensitive to everything Sanada said.

"No," Sanada said firmly. "I'm just tired. You had me play five practice matches today."

"And climb a tree," Yanagi added without considering his comment might be taken the wrong way.

If anything, his comment made Sanada crack a smile and Yukimura laugh.

Once his laughter subsided, Yukimura looked at the book that was now resting on his stomach. "I'm not in the reading mood. Do you two want to play a video game?"

"I can't play video games," Yanagi said.

"What he said," Sanada muttered.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment. They could sit there in silence for hours and nothing would be wrong. But that wasn't the case today because Yukimura had something on his mind.

"Can I ask you two something? And Renji, could you not tell Inui?"

Sanada sat up, hat falling to his thighs. Yanagi closed his book and said, "Of course. I don't tell him anything personal you two share with me."

"Koga is coming to the finals," Yukimura said, referring to the Kanto Regionals. "She said that she wants to see me play. I'm concerned."

It didn't sound like much, but that was a lot for Yukimura to admit. Admitting any weakness or asking for help or requesting for someone to stay by his side was practically unheard of when it came to Yukimura Seiichi.

"I don't believe my opinion will be of any assistance," Yanagi said. "I have no practical experience with relationships, and my advice will only be hypothetical."

"Then let's say she's hypothetically coming," Yukimura said.

"But you already told us she is coming. It's impossible to think hypothetically if we know it's real," Yanagi reasoned.

Yukimura sighed and picked up his book. "Forget I said anything."

"I'm sure things will work out," Sanada said, half meaning it. He didn't know Koga well so he didn't know what she would do.

Yukimura hmm'ed, and then began reading. He figured he could only hope for the best.

.

Kirihara didn't go to Tanaka or Miyagi's after practice. He headed to a set of street courts that, two years ago, he and An established as a midpoint between Tokyo and Kanagawa. He rounded the corner, the five courts in sight, and felt a pang of guilt. Guys shouldn't be secretly meeting with someone else's girlfriend. Was it a secret, though? She would have told Momoshiro. She wasn't the type to hide things. She was too blunt and a horrible liar.

Then he realized he didn't give a damn whether it was right or wrong.

When he walked up the steps to the courts, Kirihara spotted An on the closest court rallying against a girl. They were both wearing what Kirihara assumed was Fudomine's girls' tennis club uniforms given the black and neon pink. An was wearing neon green zebra spandex. Kirihara cracked a grin at that.

Fudomine uniforms were normal, but the sight of a Rikkaidai uniform turned heads (which is exactly what happened when Kirihara stopped next to the girls' rally in the famed yellow uniform). Rikkaidai players, if they were any good, were given strict instructions to practice at school or in private gyms and clubs if they were going to play tennis in their uniforms. If they were in street clothes nobody cared less, but the second they put on that yellow uniform...

It was the uniform that was dangerous. People watched when players wore that uniform. That uniform gave people an excuse to collect data that could prevent them from winning their third straight National title. Everything was about winning.

Again, Kirihara didn't seem to give a damn about rules at the time. He thought he was turning into quite the rebel.

The rally between the Fudomine girls finally stopped when the girl An was playing with hit the ball into the net. Kirihara wondered if she did that on purpose because that was a horrible shot. Kirihara figured she had because she came over the net, ogling him like a piece of meat.

He had the feeling that girl wasn't looking at him because of his uniform.

"Akaya, this is Hino-chan," An said; the girl in question was smiling, obviously trying to be flirty. It wasn't working. "She's singles-three."

"What are you?" Kirihara asked, completely ignoring the girl. "Reserve?"

"Singles-two," An said with a proud smile. "And don't mock reserves. You were one until last week."

"Screw you."

"I'll pass."

The two shared a smile.

Then the girl whose name Kirihara had already forgotten had to butt in. "You're Kirihara-kun, right? Tachibana-chan talks about you. You know her brother, right? The National level player?"

An looked ready to kill the singles-three girl. She hated people talking about her brother. She truly did love her brother, but his shadow was suffocating. Kirihara understood the feeling of respecting someone, yet hating them at the same time. He felt that way everything he looked at his senpais.

"You know," Singles-Three went on, "Tachibana-chan never mentioned you were cute."

"She's gay. You know how some people say bros before hoes? She's chicks before dicks. Literally. 'Cause she's a lesbian," Kirihara said. He glanced at An, who looked more amused than anything, and then back at Singles-Three. "But I _am_ adorable. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Singles-Three said. "Maybe I could get your number? I'm sure you could show me a tennis move or too. Anyone who can play with Tachibana-chan's brother must be good."

Before Kirihara could open his mouth to make up some response, An said, "I don't think his girlfriend would like that."

"You're taken?" Singles-Three asked.

Kirihara shrugged. "Yeah. Sorry 'bout that."

The girl frowned, but didn't seem too upset. She looked at An, said, "I'm gonna head off. See you at practice on Monday," and then walked off towards a bench to get her bag.

Once she walked down the stairs, Kirihara gave An a look.

"And you felt the need to cock-block me because...?"

"She wasn't your type," An said, but she had never been a good liar.

"Riiight. And you think I would accept the number to a girl I'm obvious not into?" He rocked back and forth on his feet, both hands in his pockets, smiling. When she said nothing, he rocked forward and leaned towards her so his face was close to hers. "How about you just admit you were jealous some girl came onto me one minute after meeting me?"

"Obviously I'm jealous," she said, gently pushing him away. "I am a lesbian after all."

He hated her sarcasm. It made it hard to tell what she was really thinking. Yet, for some reason, he had the feeling she couldn't stand the thought of him with another girl. His smile returned. He really, really liked the thought of that.

"You know, I don't think Momoshiro would be too happy if he found out you dig chicks," Kirihara said.

She rolled her eyes. Goofy Kirihara was back.

"So, we gonna play a set or what? You said you wanted to get in one more practice match before the tournament, right?" she asked. He nodded. "Then let's make this worth my while too. I say winner buys vending machine snacks."

"Deal. Just so you know, I want one of everything. And a dragon, preferably fire breathing."

"Ditto."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the late-ish update. I'm swamped with work (so is Temari) but I'll keep updating. Just give me time :)  
**


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62.**

On the first day of Kanto Regionals, Marui woke up to a 'ping' on his window and a peach-deprived Suzuki waiting for him. Despite her death threats, he sang his pump up song – We Will Rock You by Queen – at full volume, feet banging and clapping included.

"And you call _me_ a bad singer," she said when he came downstairs in his tennis uniform. "I sing Smack That before games. If I pretend it's about beating people up and not sex, it really gets me going."

After a quick stop at the Corner Market for peach juice, they headed towards McDonalds. Marui set his tray down, ignoring Suzuki as she ranted about how he was going to die at the age of forty-four because he just had to have six hashbrowns. She sat down across from him, fiddling with her juice.

"Are you even supposed to be eating this stuff on game day?" she asked.

He took a sip of his heart-attack-in-a-cup. "What Yukimura doesn't know won't kill him."

"But what he does know will kill you."

"Touché."

Suzuki's phone buzzed. She checked it, and then shoved it to the side. "So," she said, "is Yukimura still dating that first year?"

"Second year," Marui corrected. "And yeah. Who the hell keeps texting you?"

Suzuki placed her hands on the table, fingers laced, and stared at Marui as if her phone was not vibrating so violently it moved across the table.

"Akira."

"Bunta."

Marui gave her a look. "Who keeps texting you?"

"Baseball game today."

Marui ripped open a ketchup packet. "Doesn't that mean you have games today?"

"How many times do I have to tell you?" When her phone vibrated half way through her sigh, she swore so loudly the cashiers turned to look at her. She shoved it into shirt, arms crossed.

"I did not need to see that," Marui muttered. "Now every time I see your phone I'm going to remember how it was covered in boob sweat."

She rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up and eat your greasy food."

"But you didn't answer me," he said. "Who keeps texting you?"

"I told you –"

"Baseball game," he finished. "You also didn't answer why you don't have games today."

She stared at him like he had just married a spider and decided that she would be the permanent babysitter of their demon spawn. She had the image of those cursed spider-people from that Zelda game stuck in her head. Those damn things had given her nightmares for weeks.

"Akira?"

Suzuki looked at Marui, who had ketchup all over his face. "Couldn't you eat without getting ketchup everywhere? You look like a freaking vampire."

"Answer my questions," he said, reaching for a napkin. He balled it up and set it aside once he was done. Then, he gently kicked Suzuki. "Akira. Answer. Now."

"Ito, Bando, Etsuko, and nearly every starter on the baseball and softball team is texting me. I don't have a game because the softball-baseball Regional tournaments are different from yours. We play games spread out throughout the month, and the two teams with the best win-to-lose ratio go to Nationals. Baseball has a game today. I have one tomorrow and another on Wednesday. Happy?"

Marui took a sip of his coffee, and then hummed. "I don't know. I could always be happier."

She groaned and pulled her phone out of her shirt. She turned it off. "If you get a call asking where I was at midnight, I was not at Ito's slitting his throat."

"Gotcha."

.

Marui had to call Yukimura to remind him that he had taken the train instead of on a bus like all the other club members and to calm down because he was not sick, nor was he dead, nor was he skipping the tournament. He rolled his eyes the entire conversation, mocking his captain in a mute imitation, before hanging up.

Suzuki followed Marui around the tennis grounds as he tried to find the rest of the regulars. They knew they were getting close when they saw a wave of yellow.

"Holy crap," Suzuki muttered. "That dude is tall."

"That's Oyama. It's worse because he's younger than us. The short guy next to him is Urayama. They're the guys who've been helping me with the –"

"Suzuki Formation, right," she said. "And that kid isn't that short. He's taller than you."

Marui looked at Urayama, and then at Suzuki. "Yeah – _no_."

"Whatever. He's definitely half an inch taller than you." Then, she pointed. "There's Niou's obnoxious hair. I'd recognize it anywhere."

Marui walked over to the regulars. All he got was a nod from Jackal and Yukimura shouting, "Stretch and warm up! You have ten minutes before we jog!"

Suzuki and Marui walked over to the tree where Niou was sitting. Marui set down his bag, and went to pull his arm over his head.

"I'll help you," she offered. She held out her hands, wiggling her fingers. He stared at her. "Come on, Bunta. Ito and I came up with this. It works. Seriously. I haven't had a Charlie-horse in months."

Marui hesitantly took her hands, and then looked at Niou. "This doesn't mean anything."

Niou snorted. "Sure it doesn't."

"Shut up."

"Focus," Suzuki hissed.

She took a few steps back until their arms were parallel with the ground. She bent one arm, forcing Marui to twist and push his forward. After a few seconds she extended, then repeated with the other arm.

"Why do people need to do this?" Marui asked. "I could have done all of this by myself without looking like an idiot."

"Saves time when two people do it. I guess it's kinda pointless since I'm not doing anything, but helping you beats sitting there awkwardly next to Niou."

"Bite me," Niou snapped.

"Not into that," Suzuki replied. "Shoulder roll." He rolled his shoulders. "Now, bend your knee. Bend forward the opposite direction of me, extending your leg back as you go. If we bump heads, you went the wrong way."

Marui bent his leg so he was standing on one foot, and did as he was told.

"Wait. You and Ito did this?" Marui asked as he stood up straight, shifting to his other foot.

"Yeah"

"How awkward was this to figure out?" Marui nearly hit her head, and decided that it must have been very, very awkward.

Suzuki went as red at Marui's hair. "Shut up."

"Yeah, don't remind her she's a lesbian," Niou said. "She doesn't want to think about being close to guys."

"Just because I play softball does not mean I'm a lesbian." They straightened out again. "And it was awkward. He's taller, and I fell on my ass so many times I bruised. He kept pulling too hard on my arms."

"Speaking of height," Marui muttered. "Niou, is Urayama taller than me?"

"Yeah."

"Motherfuc –"

"_Bunta_."

She extended her arm so they were both straight. She let go of one of his hands, and then bent to the side to touch her toe. Marui mimicked her.

"Up," she ordered yanking on the hand that was still caught in hers. They repeated the motion on the other side, then straight forward, one at a time.

"I'm going to be sick," Marui muttered.

"Up."

Marui stood up straight, only to sigh as she lunged to one side, making them look like tango dancers.

"You're taking pictures, aren't you?" Marui asked, looking at Niou.

"Obviously."

.

Suzuki managed to get a decent seat in the stands. Even though it was only the first round, there were scouts everywhere. She didn't know much about tennis, but she knew enough.

She knew Marui and Jackal were the best doubles team in the country – they won six-zero – and Niou was downright scary with that partner of his – they also won six-zero. That second year that always made noise in the hallway won six-zero. Sanada and Yukimura won six-zero too.

She knew enough about tennis to get that that was scary.

When Marui spotted Suzuki, he walked over, dancing like an idiot. He stopped in front of her, but kept dancing. She couldn't help but laugh.

Then Niou walked by, accidentally bumping into her.

"Hey, you could at least say you're sorry," Suzuki snapped when he just kept walking. Marui stopped dancing, watching Niou walk away.

Niou flipped her off.

"Is it just me, or has he been acting like a jerk these past few days?" After a second of thought, she added, "Well, more of a jerk than usual."

Marui shrugged. "Maybe his girlfriend dumped him."

"If that's the case, I see why she did."

.

Niou rolled his head, his neck cracking, and wondered if Suzuki knew she talked so loud even he could hear her thirty feet away. Not that he cared what she thought. She was just a girl, and, honestly, he was done with them.

He kept walking, his eyes straying to the first round matches that were still going on. Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi had gone straight to the Hyotei-Seigaku match. Niou had had enough of Hyotei for a lifetime.

He checked his phone, not quite sure what he was waiting for. When he realized there was nothing new, he put his phone away. Even when he was surrounded by tennis, the one thing he ever truly loved, he thought of _her_. It was driving him insane.

He spotted a medic walking off of a court with a first aid box. Niou walked over the court out of curiosity. He hooked the fingers of one hand into the chain link fence. He recognized the Rokkaku-red, but not the black and blue the other team wore. He looked at the score board, and shoved away from the fence. The metal rattled behind him as he walked to his meet-up point to find Yagyuu.

Rokkaku, a team that went to Nationals more times than not, had lost to a team called St. Peters three matches to two. In all of his years of tennis, he had never heard of them.

He smirked. Maybe things were going to be interesting this year.

.

Kirihara walked towards the Hyotei-Seigaku match after stopping by a vending machine and getting a red Gatorade. When he arrived at the court, he saw Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi watching carefully. Kirihara watched beside them, taking small sips of his Gatorade. The outcome was obvious.

Seigaku would win. Hyotei would lose.

After watching the last match – Tezuka v. Atobe – Kirihara walked over to a nearby water fountain. Having organized several Hyotei-Rikkaidai practice matches during his time as captain, Kirihara knew Hiyoshi's after-match routines pretty well. The first was a stop at the water fountain to refill his water bottle, which he chugged after finishing a match to replenish fluids.

Eventually the Hyotei boy showed up, scowling. But the scowl disappeared as his face became one of friendly recognition. Kirihara and Hiyoshi bumped fists, grinning. It had become their sign of respect as captain-to-captain two years ago, and had carried over into high school.

"Nice match," Kirihara said as Hiyoshi began to fill up his water bottle.

Hiyoshi's scowl returned. "Kaidoh nearly beat me."

"But he didn't."

"He could have."

"_But he didn't_."

"You'll never defeat Yukimura with that mentality," Hiyoshi said. "Only the best is good enough."

"Don't tell me I can't beat Yukimura when you haven't even defeated Atobe," Kirihara said. Hiyoshi had returned his attention to his water bottle. Kirihara decided to change the subject. "You're Aikido looks good. Nearly as good as your Enbu stuff."

"Thanks," Hiyoshi grumbled. "Too bad I can't use it at Nationals."

"You, Zaizen, and I need to hang out," Kirihara said, not addressing Hiyoshi's statement. Kirihara didn't know how it felt not to go to Nationals when the players from three years ago were finally together in one place again. This was the tournament of a lifetime, and Hiyoshi wouldn't be in it. Kirihara couldn't fathom how that felt.

"Yeah, sure." Hiyoshi pulled his water bottle away, recapping it. He turned to look at Kirihara. "I saw Oyama and Urayama walking around. Are they playing?"

"No. They're just part of the club. They're trying to join the regulars, but can't beat our senpais."

Hiyoshi nodded once. "Apparently Kaidoh and Momoshiro saw them and literally ran to find Tezuka."

Kirihara smirked. "Babies."

"Kirihara," Hiyoshi began, face heavy with seriousness, "they chased people off the courts. I don't care how much you like them. Oyama is just as bad as you when you go demon."

"You're exaggerating," Kirihara replied. But he knew Hiyoshi was right. Oyama Kenta was a demon when he needed to be.

"_Akaya!_"

Kirihara turned, spotting Sanada farther down the path. "I gotta go. Team lunch or fraternizing with the enemy or some crap." Hiyoshi nodded and Kirihara smirked, and then he jogged off.

.

At lunch, Marui decided to put this height thing to an end once and for all. He pulled Urayama over from his spot with the first years, and stood back-to-back with him. Suzuki took a picture, and gave a simple, "I told you so," as Marui whined in frustration.

When they went back to where they were eating with Jackal, they realized someone else had joined their blanket.

"Your stalker's here," Suzuki said.

"He's not a stalker. He just appreciates my genius-ness."

"What genius?" Suzuki shot back.

"Marui-kun! Suzuki-chan!" Akutagawa called, waving and grinning. They sat down, Marui fist-bumping with the Hyotei boy. He leaned across the blanket and gave Suzuki a hug, which made her laugh. She honestly didn't mind the boy. He always gave her sweet things and hung out with her when Marui was busy with the rest of his team.

"Sorry 'bout making you sit with Jackal," Marui said. "I know he's boring."

"He's alright," Akutagawa said, laughing. Jackal just rolled his eyes. "I wish I could have seen your match, Marui-kun. I heard you guys won six-zero."

"Of course we did. Would you expect anything less?" Akutagawa grinned at Marui's question because he didn't expect anything less from Marui Bunta. "Hey, how'd your match go?"

"Hyotei lost," Akutagawa said. "But I won! I played that Momoshiro guy. His Dunk Smash was freaking awesome. And his Jack Knife – _so cool!_"

"Hey, at least you got in a good match," Marui said.

"Maybe they'll allow in four teams from Kanto since Nationals are being held in Tokyo again," Jackal said.

"But if they don't, I'll play you," Marui offered.

Akutagawa's eyes went wide. "No way. Really?"

Marui nodded. "Yup. Think of it as a birthday present."

Akutagawa went ahead and hugged him with more enthusiasm than he used when he hugged Suzuki. "Thank you! Thank you! _Thank you!_"

"Alright, you can stop now," Marui said.

The Hyotei boy pulled away, practically bouncing in place. He looked at Suzuki and smiled. "Did you try the new candy shop in Tokyo next to that place that sells that stuff?"

"Maybe," she said. "What's it called?"

"I don't know. It's just next to that place. They have triple chocolate truffles and the best ribbon candy. They even have giant gummy bears the size of your fist!"

"You're texting me the name later."

"Okie dokey."

"Don't let Oyama hear you talk about that place," Jackal said. "That kid will go into a sugar coma."

"Oyama?" Akutagawa echoed. He furrowed his brow for a moment, thinking. "I think Hiyoshi and Ohtori mentioned him. They said they hoped he and his partner weren't playing. Then they started talking about some tournament from two years ago and I fell asleep."

"They're not playing," Jackal said. But Marui and he still shared a look because what could Oyama have done to scare Hyotei? Kirihara mentioned some match where they scared their opponents off the courts, but they thought he had been exaggerating...

"Marui-kun?" Akutagawa questioned, waving a hand in front of the red-head's face.

Marui looked at him. "Yeah?"

"I gotta go." He stood up, wiping off his pants – actual pants, not underwear. He waved at them. "Bye Jackal-kun. Bye Suzuki-chan. Bye Marui-kun."

"Bye," the three said in unison as the blonde boy walked away.

When he was gone, Jackal let out a heavy breath. "That boy is insane."

"But he has awesome taste in candy," Suzuki said.

Marui and Jackal rolled their eyes.

.

After watching Marui's match in the afternoon, Suzuki sat in the stands texting Ito. He had won his game and asked if she wanted to hang out. She didn't know if he was asking her out on a date. She hadn't been asked out since the fall and that didn't end very well – being called a whore wasn't exactly something she had enjoyed. But back in the fall, when all that crap with Yoshida had happened, Ito was there for her.

Suzuki texted back _– IDK maybe... Might be visiting a candy shop and going into a permanent sugar coma tomorrow_ – and looked back at the courts. The matches were ending, Sanada defeating his opponent to claim singles-one, their final win.

After a few more ceremonies, Suzuki walked down the stands to where the regulars were gathering their things. She made chit-chat with Jackal, and gave Marui a look when he opened a snack-cake.

"Just because I stopped eating them doesn't mean I can't enjoy them. My blood sugar is low anyways," Marui said as he shouldered his bag.

"You're not diabetic," Suzuki said, standing up.

Marui shrugged as he chewed. Marui walked between Jackal and Suzuki as they headed towards the buses. Marui and Suzuki were going to catch a train, swing by the Corner Market for some ice-cream, and then go Marui's, but Yukimura still needed to check him off the list.

As they got closer to the buses, the more crowded it became. People boarded once they were checked off of a list by Yanagi, Sanada or Yukimura.

Naturally, when Yanagi felt someone tap his shoulder, he said, "Name," without looking up from his clipboard.

"Sadaharu."

Yanagi looked up. "Sadaharu?"

"I believe I just said that."

Yanagi blinked calmly, smiling slightly. "Is there something you need? I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."

"I noticed you hadn't sent scouts out to watch today's matches. In order to ensure a fair match – there's a hundred percent chance your opponent scouted you – I made a copy of my tapes."

Inui reached into his pocket, and pulled out a flash drive. Yanagi took it, and gently slipped it into his pocket.

"It contains St. Peters matches against Yamabuki and Rokkaku. There is only one angle, but you should be able to gather enough data regardless of that."

Yanagi nodded. "What prompted you to do this? There is no logical reason that I can think of."

Inui smiled and pushed up his glasses. "Seigaku will meet Rikkaidai in the Finals. I don't want my sworn rival to lose against a bunch of – well, Kaidoh called them punks."

"Are you insinuating that Rikkaidai can lose?"

"I believe that was proven three years ago, Renji." He turned, waved over his shoulder as he walked away. "See you at Finals."

.

After returning to the school, all of the players left. All except for Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi. The three sat in the captain's office, papers and scores from the first day of the tournament scattered across the floor. Yukimura sat at his desk with Sanada and Yanagi next to him, the information from the flash drive loading.

"What do we know about them?" Yukimura asked, referring to St. Peters.

"I was only able to do a bit of research on the bus, and I couldn't find much," Yanagi admitted. "It's one of St. Rudolph's sister schools. It's located in Chiba rather than Tokyo, and hasn't put much emphasis on sports in past years. However, this year, a group of friends joined the tennis club, and entered the tournament. This is the first year the tennis team has entered."

"That's it?" Sanada asked.

"There really is nothing on them. Most webpages redirect you to St. Rudolph's page, and the tennis team is too new to the tournaments to have a reputation."

"They'll have a reputation in Rokkau and Yamabuki from now on," Yukimura said as a video player popped up on the computer.

Yukimura hit play without being told to do so, his eyes locked on the screen. The footage began with the Rokkaku players shaking hands with the St. Peters players, the first round of the tournament.

"Renji, what was the final match count?" Yukimura asked as the footage began to transition.

"St. Peters won three matches, Rokkaku won two."

"And Yamabuki?"

"The same outcome, three matches to two."

The reason Rokkaku had lost became apparent at once; St. Peters was violent.

The Rokkaku doubles pairs were able to fend for themselves against the bodily attacks, and even returned a few dangerous shots just to prove they could. Rokkaku won both of the doubles matches, though doubles-two had gone into a tie-breaker.

The problem was singles. Saeki was injured during his match against a second year with the strangest gray eyes. Aoi played the captain, a third year, and was hit in the knees, unable to continue playing.

When the footage of the first round ended, it cut to a different area. The Seigaku regulars were sitting on a patch of grass, the camera wobbling. Inui was shown diving for the camera, which was being held by Momoshiro. Kaidoh was hissing something, and Kikumaru was laughing.

Yukimura forwarded through the footage of Seigaku, not the least bit interested in what Tezuka was eating for lunch. Unless there was secret footage of Echizen, he couldn't care less.

Once the footage reached the Quarterfinals, Yamabuki versus St. Peters, Yukimura stopped fast-forwarding. Unlike Rokkaku, Yamabuki's doubles were weak. Their opponents were no match for them, and won easily. The matches were so short Yukimura doubted Yanagi could draw any concise data. Rokkaku's doubles would hold more information.

Singles-three lost, but that didn't stop Akutsu in singles-two and Sengoku in singles-one from facing their opponents. Their team couldn't win, but they could sure as hell take revenge for the brutal attacks on their teammates.

Whoever faced Akutsu was no fool. His opponent, the second year with gray eyes who defeated Saeki, forfeited half way through the match. He had realized Akutsu was strong. St. Peters was able to forfeit that match; they already had two wins and only need one more. Intelligence and power were a dangerous combination. Jumonji. That was the boy's name.

Sengoku faced the captain. Luck must have been on his side because he avoided many of the shots to his body. However, he was struck in the stomach twice. But Sengoku was strong. He won six-three.

The footage cut after that.

After a moment of silence, Sanada said, "We need to create a lineup. It appears that their lineup is set in stone. They don't alternate positions."

Yanagi began to say something, but Yukimura wasn't listening. He remembered what Yagyuu had said a week ago, "Let them play in one match as doubles-two at Kanto Regionals." Urayama and Oyama. St. Peters surely was a brutal team, and Yukimura had agreed to let them play if an opponent who used brute force surfaced. Perhaps _–_

"Seiichi," Sanada said, breaking Yukimura's train of thought.

"Yes?"

"Do you agree?"

"With what?"

Sanada sighed. Yukimura knew he should apologize to the both of them for not listening, but he didn't.

"We were discussing using the usual line up," Sanada said. "Of course, Akaya will play singles-three instead of Renji."

"No," Yukimura said, immediately dismissing the thought. "I told you both about my discussion with Niou and Yagyuu about Urayama and Oyama. I believe their request had some strong points."

"You want first years to play in the Semifinals?" Sanada asked. It was as though Yukimura had suggested throwing a welcome-back party for Echizen.

"I'm the captain. My word is final. Urayama and Oyama are to play doubles-two in the tournament, and if they win the match, they will become regulars. We have a singles-reserve, so I don't see why we don't have a doubles-reserve."

"Then what should we do with Niou and Yagyuu?" Yanagi asked. "They're both capable singles players. Perhaps one of them could play singles-three?"

"Niou should be singles-three," Sanada said. "He has the right temperament when facing violent players."

Yukimura nodded in agreement. "Yes. In that case, Akaya should play singles-two."

"And singles-one?" Yanagi questioned.

"I'll take singles-one. After all, captains should face each other on the court." Yukimura reopened the footage of Rokkaku's singles-one match, Aoi versus St. Peters' captain. Over the sound of Aoi screaming out in pain when his knee was hit, he said, "I'm rather angry with their captain. You see, I was quite looking forward to playing that first year..."

Yukimura sighed, paused the footage, unplugged the flash drive, and handed it to Yanagi.

"I'll have it analyzed and the data typed by morning," Yanagi said without being asked to do so. "Should I contact Urayama-kun and Oyama-kun?"

"I'll do it," Yukimura said as he grabbed the phone that sat on his desk. "I don't think I'll tell them about becoming regulars. I don't want to get their hopes up for nothing. Just in case."

_Just in case they lose._

* * *

**A/N: In case you didn't know, I posted a new story called **_**Heroes of Rikkaidai**_**. It's a superhero-au. Go check it out :) **

**Now stuff regarding this story:**

**I think given how long Marui and Suzuki have been friends Akutagawa would know her. **

**This story arc is going to long (chapter 62 through 68, but 67 is only half-tennis). The next chapter is very similar to this, and I apologize for that, but I need background and character development. The matches themselves aren't that long, but they just didn't flow well in a single chapter. So the arc is long, but the chapters aren't more than a few thousand words. **

**I'm dreading writing Nationals, but I can't wait to write them at the same time. **

**Anyways.**

**Here's a major rant on the height stuff since I vaguely reference the height of certain characters. If you don't care about heights or appearances, then just skip this. This is just me clearing some things up.**

**Oyama is 6'4", and Urayma is 5'5.5". In the first chapter, I said Marui is 5'5". So, yes, Urayama is slightly taller than Marui, but is considered short in comparison to Oyama. Kirihara hit an undetermined growth-spurt and is around Sanada's height. Therefore, Marui's the shortest.**

**While I'm on the topic of height, in the first chapter I said Suzuki was shorter than Marui. She doesn't have a specific height, but she's around 5'2" (give or take an inch). In relation to Ito, she comes up to his chin. So Ito is a good bit taller than her, but isn't insanely tall like Oyama. **

**So there you go. **


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

Urayama stood on his balcony in his pajamas, his stomach twisting with knots. Six hours ago, Yukimura had called them to tell them about playing doubles-two against St. Peters. He knew he should be sleeping – it was late, he needed rest – but he couldn't seem to calm down. He had never been nervous in his life, but if he had to define nervousness, he would use the stomach knotting thing.

The door on the balcony adjacent to his slid open. Oyama poked his head out with his cat, Sapphire, resting in his arms.

"Can't sleep?" Urayama asked.

Oyama shook his head. "I'm making some tea. Do you want some?"

"Of course I want some. I'll be over in a sec."

Oyama slid his bedroom door shut. Urayama traveled into his bedroom, and walked through the apartment. His parents were asleep, but he knew they wouldn't mind him going right next door. He slid over, knocked on the door, heard Oyama shout that it was open, and came in barefooted.

Sapphire purred as she rubbed against his leg. Urayama knelt down to scratch behind her ears.

"Water's heating up," Oyama said. Unlike Urayama, his parents weren't home. His dad had been home earlier, but he was called in to do a surgery on a critical-level patient. His mom had been up north all week at some cardiac medical thing giving a presentation.

Urayama sat at the table in the dining room, Sapphire jumping up onto his lap. He made goofy faces, earning him a meow or two.

"At least our match is first thing in the morning so we don't have to worry all day," Oyama said, trying to look on the bright side. He fiddled with his newest earring, his seventh, which he had gotten last year. That's when Urayama realized that Oyama was nervous, too, because Urayama had never seen Oyama fiddle with anything.

"We'll be fine," Urayama said, trying to reassure himself and his partner. He went cross-eyed at the cat, but Sapphire was already beginning to fall asleep on his thighs and was no longer interested in the boy with the funny faces. "No, Sapphire, just because I'm warm doesn't mean you can sleep on me."

"She can't understand you."

"I don't care. Get up. Please. _Ow!_ Don't knead my thighs!"

A timer beeped. Oyama disappeared into the kitchen, returning a minute later with two cups of steaming chamomile tea. He set a cup on the table in front of Urayama, and then sat across from him.

"Honey?" Urayama asked.

"Yes, and sugar."

As Oyama sipped at his tea, he played with one of his older piercings. Oyama hadn't even tried to sleep, Urayama realized. He always took out his earrings before sleeping, and there was no logical reason for him to put them back in if he couldn't sleep.

"We'll be fine," Urayama repeated. He took another sip of tea. It warmed the knots in his stomach, but did nothing to undo them. "Kirihara-buchou wouldn't let us play in a match he knew we couldn't handle."

"You mean Yukimura."

"Huh?"

"You said Kirihara-buchou."

"Oh, right." Urayama took a sip of tea. "Yukimura-buchou."

Urayama watched the clock on the wall as the hands moved vertically _–_ midnight. The day of the Kanto Regionals Semifinals, the Circus Pair's debut match in the high school league, had arrived.

"Shiita, we'll win."

"I know."

They both smiled.

Hearing it from Oyama, his rock, his partner, his friend, made the knots disappear.

.

The two arrived at the school half an hour before the buses were due to leave. They had managed to get enough sleep even if it wasn't as much as they would have hoped for. They finally understood why the regulars were always toned down personality-wise on tournament days; the gods of the courts, the best team in the nation, all had knots in their stomachs the night before a tournament. Except for Yukimura.

They sat under a tree with their tennis bags after changing into their uniforms, sucking on butterscotch candies. Marui and Jackal came over and joined them, and Kirihara joined them a bit later. The second year immediately pulled out his phone to respond to a text.

"Akaya's talking to his girlfriend," Marui teased.

"I am not," Kirihara grumbled. It was just Tanaka. She was coming to the tournament and needed to know which train to catch. Miyagi was coming to the finals. They couldn't even stand sitting next to each other to watch their best friend play a game of tennis. Kirihara wondered if things would ever return to how they once were.

Soon Yukimura was calling them to the buses. Kirihara boarded onto a bus behind the other regulars, and Urayama and Oyama followed, unsure of where they were supposed to go. Usually, first years sat on a different bus, but weren't they half-regulars now, so wouldn't they sit with the regulars?

Niou was sitting backwards in his seat to bother Yagyuu, who was sitting behind him with a book. Marui and Jackal sat together so they could share headphones. Kirihara sat in front of Marui and Jackal, and Urayama and Oyama sat in front of their old captain. The four back seats were empty since Yanagi, Sanada and Yukimura were doing head counts on the other bus.

Once the Big Three were done checking on the other buses, they boarded the bus with the regulars. The front of the bus was filled with third years. Once they had sat down, the driver started up the bus and left the school.

"Regulars, face me," Yukimura ordered. Everyone, including Urayama and Oyama, turned around like Niou had been doing. The captain had a packet in his lap, the information Yanagi had formulated from the videos on the flash drive.

"Our match against St. Peter's is in the morning," Yukimura continued. "This is their first year in the tournament so they're a wild card. Up until now, they've been playing with a violent playing style. During the first round, they took out Rokkaku's Aoi by shooting at his knee. In the Quarterfinals, Yamabuki's Sengoku was nearly defeated by the captain. Renji."

"The captain, Fukuda, is a third year," Yanagi said. "He does not have any specialty shots that we know of, yet his violent tennis is reflected in his teammates. One shot in particular caused Sengoku to struggle: a shot to the stomach. While Sengoku was lucky to avoid many of the shots, this reveals these players have a complex understanding of anatomy and are not afraid to attack physically. His backhand is also quite formidable."

"Of course, I'll be singles-one, so Fukuda won't be a problem," Yukimura said, flipping to another page in his packet. "The vice-captain is part of the doubles-one team. Marui, Jackal, they'll be no problem for you. Watch your footing and you'll be fine."

"I hate violent players. They're kinda dumb. No offense, Akaya," Marui said, turning to grin toothily at his junior.

"Don't underestimate or overestimate your opponents based on their play style," Sanada scolded.

Marui turned around. "But I'm a _genius_."

"Moving on," Yukimura said dismissively. "Singles-two is the favored position of a second year, Jumonji. He defeated Rokkaku's Saeki with a shot called the Bullet. The shot is unbalanced and does not have a constant speed. However, it is powerful, and it's aimed at your gut. He appears to have average speed and strength, but, again, we can't be certain he isn't hiding something.

"Akaya, he's all yours."

Kirihara grinned. "Gotcha."

"Singles-three is played by an ordinary, third year player," Yukimura said as he flipped through the packet. "Niou, you'll be playing him since you're not in doubles. Don't mess around and provoke him."

"Puri."

Yukimura smiled at the old sound before continuing.

"Now, Urayama-kun and Oyama-kun will be playing doubles-two today," Yukimura said, smile gone. He looked up from his packet, eyes landing on the two first years, who were now the center of attention. "Yamada and Saito are third year students, and arguably equal in power to their doubles-one.

"They don't appear to have a defensive position, even when receiving. The best course of action would be to be on the offensive from the get go. From what Akaya has told us and what I've observed during practice, you can both play offense and defense. Use that to your advantage. Also, you two are to remove your wrist weights before the match.

"Now, are there any questions?" Yukimura asked. After a moment of silence, he continued. "Renji will distribute the information I briefly covered. You are to read the information of your opponent twice. Remember, we will win."

_Always win. Losing is not permitted._

Kirihara ignored the mantra in his head and flipped through the pages of the packet. He skipped his opponent, and went to Urayama and Oyama's. Yukimura hadn't been kidding about how dangerous they were. Fifty-eight percent of their overall shots were aimed at the body.

"Guys," Kirihara muttered, leaning forward so his head was between the first years', "are you sure you're up to this? I mean, there's a reason you guys are recognized by second and first years..."

The reason was Oyama Kenta, the Ringmaster, the one who drove a Seigaku pair off the courts two years ago at Nationals.

"I promise not to do anything," Oyama said.

"Well, you can promise all you want, but you have just as much control over your temper on the courts as I do mine," Kirihara retorted. "These guys will attack you. Urayama, if you get hurt _–_"

"I won't get hurt," Urayama cut in. He looked at Oyama. "I promise."

Kirihara slumped back into his seat. He couldn't worry about them. They weren't his team anymore. They were merely his teammates. That made all the difference in the world.

Besides, he had to read about Jumonji.

.

They arrived an hour before their match; Fudomine's match against Seigaku would be in the afternoon after lunch. Sanada and Yanagi headed off to turn in the player registration. Yukimura went over a few more things (meet up point, basic rules, blah-blah-blah). Once he was done, Kirihara headed off towards Marui and Jackal, but someone grabbed his wrist.

"Hey, don't touch _–_ oh, Miho."

Tanaka smiled. "Hey. I'm really freaking early, huh?"

"Pretty early." He smiled. "I'm glad you could come."

"Just don't be surprised if I leave half way through your match," she said, completely honest. She hated Kirihara's demon modes. That wasn't the Kirihara Akaya she knew. The Kirihara Akaya she knew was goofy and couldn't harm a fly. She accepted the anger deep inside him, but that didn't mean she enjoyed watching it.

Kirihara nodded. "Yeah, I know. Remember, if you do leave, text me, and I'll find you. Closest _–_"

"Closest vending machine to the court," she finished. "I know the drill. Sooo what exactly should I do until your match?"

"You can just hang out with us."

"You sure?"

"Of course." Kirihara looked around, spotted Yukimura, and shouted, "Buchou, can I show my friend around?"

"Buddy system," was Yukimura's only reply.

Kirihara sighed. They still enforced the buddy system. He got lost once back in junior high, and now he wasn't allowed to go anywhere during a tournament without a regular or third year accompanying him. Wait. Urayama and Oyama were technically temporary-regulars...

"Urayama, Oyama, we're going for a walk!"

The two first years came over. After introducing them to Tanaka ("She's not my girlfriend," he added after saying her name), the four headed off to wonder around the courts. Urayama and Oyama hung behind their old captain, knowing he just wanted time to talk to his friend. They recognized her from practices back in junior high when Kirihara was captain. More recent memories made them recognize her as the sad girl who hung around during practice a month or so ago. She looked happier, if only a little.

They headed around the grounds talking about nothing before they headed for the court where the match would be played. At the court, reporters from sports magazines were already setting up. A few scouts from other schools were also setting up, including Inui. Kirihara had no doubt he would be playing in the match against Fudomine in the afternoon.

"So if we're here, closest vending machine would be here," Tanaka said, pointing to a spot on her map so Kirihara could mark it on his. When he didn't say anything, she poked him. "Akaya, are you listening?"

Still no response. She looked up at him, realized he was looking over her shoulder, and let her eyes wonder. A group of boys was walking towards them, faces set like stone. Their jerseys had black sleeves and a black collar, but royal blue diamonds covered the torso. They all wore white shorts. One boy, the one in the front, had his jersey unzipped, revealing the solid black polo underneath.

However, the most striking aspect of the boys was their physical attributes. They varied in height, but they all had wild hair or piercings or a scowl. In fact, they resembled Oyama in a way. Yet, at the same time, they were nothing like Oyama. They held themselves differently. They held themselves as if they were the best, the most dangerous, the strongest.

They held themselves as though they were monsters.

"Kirihara-senpai, who are those guys?" Urayama asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Kirihara said as the boys approached.

The boy with the open jersey stopped in front of Kirihara. He was looking at Tanaka, smiling like the devil. "Hello, I'm Fukuda, the captain of St. Peters's fine tennis team. I didn't know Rikkaidai had such cute players. I'm actually looking forward to the match now."

"You're right, Akaya's pretty damn cute," Tanaka said.

"Miho, I think you're telepathic. I told this girl that the other day." Kirihara stepped forward. Fukuda was his height, if only a little taller. Kirihara smiled sweetly at the captain, tilted his head in a mocking way, and said, "You're right about cute players. I'm so fucking adorable, aren't I?"

Fukuda wasn't smiling. "You must be Kirihara Akaya."

The captain immediately lost any interest he had in Kirihara the second the name left his lips. He walked around the tennis player, stopping in front of Tanaka. He ran his eyes over her body from toe to head. When his eyes landed on her face, he saw no trace of embarrassment. Then, he brought his hand up to brush a piece of hair away from her face, but Tanaka slapped his hand away before he got the chance.

"Touch me and I will drop kick your ass."

"I doubt that, princess."

"_Try me_."

Kirihara watched Fukuda, who seemed to be mentally debating whether or not she was kidding. Kirihara smirked when the jerk stuck his hands in his pockets and turned. Tanaka was an actress after all; in fact, Kirihara doubted she even knew what a drop kick was.

"We're going," Fukuda ordered, not bothering to look at his teammates. "They're not worth out time."

His team followed without question. Two boys looked at Urayama and Oyama, as if asking if those were the idiots they had to defeat. Another boy looked at Kirihara, his smoky eyes and cocky smirk making Kirihara's blood boil. Jumonji.

The four Rikkaidai students stood silently, none of them able to put their thoughts into words, but they were all thinking the same thing:

St. Peters was doing down.

.

When the boys realize they had five minutes before they needed to meet up with the team to warm up, Tanaka hugged Kirihara and told him to kick some ass for her. Kirihara didn't have the heart to tell her that he wouldn't be the one playing Fukuda, but he had the feeling she didn't care. She smiled at Urayama and Oyama, told them the same thing she told Kirihara, and then pulled out her map to find the court.

The three reached the meet up point right on time. It was a court that wasn't scheduled for use, which meant they could use it to do light rallies. They walked towards Yanagi, who was checking names off on a clipboard to make sure everyone who had come on the buses was coming to the meet up.

"You have half an hour to warm up," Yanagi said. "Urayama-kun, Oyama-kun _–_ your weights, if you would."

The two slipped off the wrist weights, the other members staring. Immediately the whispers began. Were the first years playing? When they wandered off with Kirihara towards Niou and Yagyuu, their weights slipped into Yanagi's pocket, it seemed like it.

Niou was sitting in the grass on the far side of the court, Yagyuu pushing down on his back to help him stretch. Kirihara set his tennis bag down, and tugged his right arm across his chest.

"Ow, Hiroshi, stop!" Niou demanded when Yagyuu pushed him a little too far. Yagyuu stopped pushing, allowing Niou to sit up straight. He looked at the first years that were standing awkwardly. "Did you three run into those dicks?"

"Who are you talking about?" Oyama asked.

"Your missing relatives," Niou replied with a smirk. "Puri."

"I forgot how annoying that sound was," Yagyuu said, tapping Niou's back with his foot. "Bend over."

"You should take me to dinner first, Hiroshi. I'm not that easy."

Yagyuu sighed. Niou reached for his toes. Yagyuu pushed down on his back. For lack of a better word, Niou went, "Ow."

"We did run into them, Niou-senpai," Urayama said. "They're scary."

"You think they're intimidating?" Yagyuu questioned. "Wouldn't you be used to people with that type of appearance?"

"You mean because of Kenta? Kenta's not scary," Urayama said, practically laughing at the idea of Oyama being a scary guy. "He couldn't harm a fly. I mean, look at him!"

They all looked at Oyama. Everyone on St. Peters either had his long, wild hair or his ring filled ears. From the right perspective, Oyama might have been scarier than those players. In addition to his long hair and ear piercings, there was his height, which no one on St. Peters came close to matching.

"Those guys stand with stiff shoulders. They look like giant bullies." Urayama's face became unreadable for a moment, but only a moment. Then his usual smile was back. "Kenta just doesn't stand like a guy who wants to hurt anyone. Those guys do."

"I see," Yagyuu said.

"Shiita, we need to rally," Oyama said. "Let's go find Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai."

"'kay, 'kay."

The two walked off to find the doubles-one pair, Urayama bouncing excitedly.

"Niou-senpai, wanna rally?" Kirihara asked. Since Yagyuu wasn't playing and Niou didn't have a partner to warm up with, Kirihara figured it was a safe question. Then again, nothing with Niou was safe.

"Yeah. Whatever." Niou stood up once Yagyuu stopped trying to kill him, grabbed his racquet, and headed towards the court with Kirihara right behind him.

.

The members of the Rikkaidai team who weren't regulars headed off to the courts ten minutes before the start of the match. The regulars jogged around the grounds for several minutes before finally heading to the court themselves.

Every seat was full. The chanting of "Go, go Rikkaidai!" was nearly deafening. Kirihara tried to search the crowd for Tanaka, but his eyes kept wandering to familiar faces _–_ An was sitting with Fudomine and Seigaku, Hyotei was standing at the top (probably so Atobe could turn dramatically when he mentally declared the winner), even Rokkaku and Yamabuki were chanting "Invincible Rikkaidai!" along with the Rikkaidai team.

It was suffocating in the most amazing way.

They set their bags down on the few seats reserved for them behind the captain's bench. Before sitting down on his wooden throne, Yukimura faced his teammates. Rather, he looked at Urayama and Oyama.

"You two will be up first," Yukimura said. "I expect a good match."

Urayama smiled. "Of course, Yukimura-buchou."

The referee gestured for both teams to come down to the courts to shake hands. Yukimura, Kirihara, Niou, Marui, Jackal, Urayama, and Oyama jumped down to the court and walked towards the net. Across from them stood the St. Peters boys.

Yamada and Saito laughed when they saw Urayama. Oyama wished that glares could kill.

Jumonji's gray eyes were locked on Kirihara, who smirked and said, "Like I told your captain, I'm adorable."

The stands fell silent when the referee blew his whistle. "Will the captains step forward and shake hands?"

Yukimura stepped forward at the same time as Fukuda. With one sweet smile and one twisted smirk, the two shook hands. Fukuda moved to pull his hand back, but Yukimura's grip was like a lock. He kept the other captain in place, continued that sweet little smile of his, his eyes unwavering.

"Should I be afraid? That's your thing, isn't it? Scaring people with that pretty little smile?" Fukuda asked. "Fear me. I don't get afraid."

"You shouldn't fear me. Fear _them_."

Urayama was smiling. Oyama was finishing off another butterscotch candy. Marui was blowing a bubble. Jackal sighed when Marui accidentally swallowed his gum. Niou had on his poker face. Kirihara looked ready to kill. Yukimura let go of Fukuda's hand.

The Semifinals had begun.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter: Urayama-Oyama v. Yamada-Saito.**

**Next chapter may not come for awhile. I have to write it, but I'm working on another fic right now that I can't seem to stop writing and planning for. I apologize for any wait, but fill your time by checking out my other fic? Seriously, it isn't that bad – **_**Heroes of Rikkaidai**_**.**

**Yes, I lost my shame a LONG time ago. **

**Also. I just re-read some of the earlier chapters. Holy crap. **_**Nostalgia**_**. **


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64.**

Urayama and Oyama stood on one side of the net watching as Yamada's racquet spun. Urayama couldn't stop moving, couldn't stop from bouncing on the balls of his feet because he had to move. He'd been worked up all day, and he needed to let out some energy.

"Smooth," Yamada said as he picked up his racquet. "We're serving first."

Oyama stood at the baseline with his hair pulled back away from his face. Urayama stood closer to the net, grinning over his shoulder at Oyama as if to say, "Now or never."

"Urayama-Oyama pair versus Yamada-Saito pair! One set match, Yamada to serve!" the referee called out.

According to Yanagi's data, Yamada and Saito were defensive. They would drag out the rallies and wear down Urayama and Oyama. Over the years, Urayama's stamina had increased, but not to the point where he could perform well in a drawn out match. They had to attack, attack, attack if they were going to get through this match.

So when the ball came to the pink haired first year, he bent he knees and moved his racquet the way Marui taught him to. The ball rolled along the net, and dropped onto the opponent's side. Still not perfect, but it was getting there.

"Love-fifteen!"

Urayama returned Yamada's serve, staying at the baseline. He was better at offensive plays, but he could handle himself at the baseline if need be. He watched the ball's movements, taking off to return it when he knew it would be hard for Oyama to get there.

Saito returned a corner shot to Oyama, grinning wickedly. The ball was fast and sharp, and was aimed directly at Oyama.

The taller boy jumped to the side, returning the ball, only to see Yamada up at the net, ready to attack. The St. Peters player returned the ball to the corner, out of Oyama and Urayama's reach.

"Fifteen all!"

Oyama looked over at Yanagi, who was leaning over the railing to talk to Yukimura. Something about statistics. Something that didn't matter to Oyama and Urayama. They just played tennis, took what came at them, didn't worry about the data because sometimes the data was wrong. Yamada and Saito attacked, too. So what? It didn't change their plan at all.

Urayama's eyes followed the ball when Oyama returned Yamada's serve. Yamada and Urayama rallied for some time before Urayama was able to take his stance to hit a Tightrope Walking. The ball tumbled over the net onto St. Peters' side of the court.

"Fifteen-thirty."

Urayama twisted from side to side, moving with ease, like a trapeze artist. He didn't flip and spin the way Kikumaru did, but there was a spontaneous gracefulness to his movements that made it unpredictable. He followed the ball and returned it, and Oyama took care of anything he missed.

As Urayama followed the ball, he realized he wasn't being forced to run from side to side. The ball was getting closer to him, closer to his body, to his arms and legs.

"Shiita, make them lob it."

"'kay, 'kay."

Urayama returned the ball with a drop shot, something they would have to lob, and moved to the side. When Saito lobbed the ball into the air, it was Oyama who returned it, his body twisting. The ball curved downward, slamming into the baseline – an Elephant Smash.

"Fifteen-forty

When Oyama's serve was returned, Urayama moved. He didn't think where he was hitting the ball, he just hit it. It just so happened that Urayama slammed the ball straight towards Saito, who seemed to take it as a threat.

The St. Peters' player shot the ball back at Urayama, purposefully aiming at his body. Urayama jumped to the side, hitting it back. The rally was short; it ended when Urayama hit a shot to the line that his opponents thought was out. It was in.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama! One game to love. Yamada to serve."

.

"Game, Yamada-Saito. Three games to two! Oyama to serve."

Slowly, Yamada and Saito picked up the pace. For each point Urayama got with a Tightrope Walking, Yamada got another point from a poach. Every time Oyama hit an Elephant Smash, Saito snuck in a sneaky shot to the corner, just out of Urayama's reach.

No matter what position Urayama was in, he was the focus of Yamada and Saito's attacks. They lobbed balls to the corners when he was at the back to make him run and aimed them at his body when he was in the front. Urayama couldn't set up shots the way Oyama could. He couldn't play like his partner. He could only hit the ball.

"Shiita, don't hit it," Oyama ordered. The ball flew past Urayama, straight to the back, landing less than an inch past the baseline.

"Out!" the referee called. "Fifteen-love."

Oyama took in a deep, calming breath as he took his place to serve. If they kept the service games like they had been, they would go into a tiebreaker. Oyama looked at the weights on his partner's ankles. If it came down to a tiebreaker, they might have to pull out that act a bit earlier than expected.

Oyama leaned back and served, slamming the ball towards Saito. Oyama watched as Yamada and Urayama rallied, watched the way Yamada's face became more aggressive. Urayama wouldn't notice, wouldn't think anything of the balls that crept closer to his body as long as he could hit them.

Oyama saw it in Yamada's face. He had seen it before, countless times, and knew what it meant.

"Shiita! Move!"

Urayama did move. Towards the ball.

But the ball curved, and Urayama hadn't been expecting a Snake, hadn't know Yamada could even hit one. The ball slammed into Urayama's non-dominant arm. An agonized screech fell from Urayama's lips as he dropped his racquet and grabbed his arm.

"Fifteen all!"

Oyama dropped his racquet and ran forward to his partner. His mind went back, flashing back to times he thought he'd forgotten, to the pictures he accidently stumbled upon in that box under Urayama's bed. Pictures of Urayama with his head wrapped, his brown hair sticking out from the bandages. Pictures of Urayama smiling through the pain because he didn't want to bother people. Pictures of a broken boy.

"Shiita." Oyama grabbed Urayama' shoulders and knelt just enough to look him in the eye. "_Shiita_."

"I'm fine." Urayama smiled and let go of his arm. "See?"

Oyama heard Yukimura tell the referee to call a time-out, to get a medic. The two first years moved over the bench, Oyama not saying a single word. Urayama sat down on the bench when Yukimura stood up. Oyama stood a few feet away.

The team watched as the medic twisted Urayama's arm every which way. Eventually, he seemed satisfied, and looked at Yukimura.

"It doesn't seem severely damaged. It'll probably bruise, but that's it."

"So he can continue playing?" Yukimura asked.

"Yes," the medic answered. "Make sure to ice it after the match. Just in case."

Yukimura looked down at the first year sitting on the captain's bench. For such a small, delicate looking kid, he had guts. Yukimura saw a bit of himself in that girly looking boy, in that fire to prove his strength.

Kirihara looked at Oyama, expecting his blank, thoughtful face. But he didn't see that. Oyama's face had hardened, his posture changing, his eyes freezing over with cold hatred. Suddenly the nice boy with the sweet tooth was absolutely terrifying. Kirihara had seen Oyama like that before, two years ago, right before he drove two Seigaku players off the court.

The second year looked at Urayama, who flexing his arm. The medic packed his things and stood up, nodding to the referee as he left the court.

"The match will resume in one minute!" the referee announced.

"Urayama," Kirihara began, leaning over the railing, "calm him down. Now."

Urayama looked up at Oyama, who was staring at Saito and Yamada as they talked to their captain, Fukuda, by the bench. Urayama stood up, putting a hand on his friend's arm.

"Kenta, I'm okay," Urayama said. Oyama didn't look at him. "You promised me you wouldn't do this again."

"Is everything alright?" Yukimura asked.

Urayama looked at his captain, and then back at his partner. Only Oyama wasn't there. He was walking towards the court, his knuckles white from his death grip on his racquet. Urayama looked at Kirihara, who was shaking his head, and then jogged after Oyama.

The crowd began to chant once more – "Go, go, Rikkaidai!"

"Kenta, stop this."

Urayama grabbed Oyama's wrist, but the taller boy kept walking, breaking away from his partner's grip. Urayama stood rooted in the middle of the court as he watched his partner walk to the baseline. The first year sent one last look at Kirihara, as if to say, "I can't stop him," and then turned to face the net.

"The score is fifteen all! Oyama to serve."

Oyama's serve was faster and stronger than ever before. The return was aimed at Urayama, but Oyama already saw that coming. He bolted to the front, stepping in front of Urayama, who seemed to shrink in Oyama's enormous shadow.

Right before the ball reached the net, Oyama changed his grip on his racquet. When he swung, it was parallel to the ground, the frame of the racquet meeting the ball. He whipped his arm, and the ball went flying straight to Yamada, who moved out of the way, eyes wide.

"Thirty-fifteen."

The next point went the same way. The return was aimed at Urayama, who was blocked by his partner. Oyama whipped the ball back, using the length of his arm to his advantage. Yamada wasn't fast enough to jump to the side and return the shot, and took a ball to the arm, just like Urayama had.

"F-forty-fifteen."

Oyama's next attack was aimed at Saito. He snapped his arm down, sending a short shallow shot to Saito's feet. The St. Peters player jumped away just in time.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama. Three games all. Saito to serve."

Yamada and Saito sent panicked looks at their captain, who sat safely on his bench.

It was as if Oyama had changed into a completely different person. He held himself differently and used his appearance to intimidate. He looked like the rest of the St. Peters players, like someone who wanted nothing more than to see someone weaker than him break.

Urayama grabbed Oyama's wrist as he walked back to the baseline. "Kenta, _please_ stop this. You're doing the same thing they're doing. Bullying a bully doesn't do anything but cause more pain."

Oyama stared at him, his face cold and distant. Urayama's fingers uncurled from his partner's wrist. The shorter boy looked over at Yukimura, then Kirihara, and finally at Marui and Jackal. Urayama let out a shaky breath and took his place.

"This is wrong," Jackal said. "Oyama isn't like this."

"I've told you this would happen if Urayama got hurt," Kirihara hissed. "This is _your _fault."

He glared at the back of Yukimura's head. The captain turned, looking at his kouhai, his expression nearly as distant as Oyama's.

"Don't let yourself fall under the impression that they're yours because you were their captain once. This is my team, not yours," Yukimura declared. He turned back around, crossing his arms. "Don't question me again, Akaya."

Kirihara gripped the railing, his nails scrapping along the cement.

"Is this what happened two years ago?" Jackal asked.

"Yeah. Urayama got hit during a match and Oyama went freaky mad. He broke a guy's arm and gave the other a concussion. He used that move – that shot – and got the nickname Ringmaster. That's when the whole Circus Pair thing got popular."

"What's the shot called?" Marui asked. If Marui replaced Oyama's racquet with a whip, it almost liked like he was a –

"Lion Tamer," Kirihara answered. "He uses his long arms and the racquet like a whip that extends from his body. A vertical movement is called a Snap. A horizontal movement is a Whip."

"Is it a demon mode?" Yagyuu asked, watching as Oyama snapped his arm down, sending the ball flying towards Yamada's head. The player ducked, the color from his face draining.

"No," Kirihara said quickly.

"He is showing signs of entering a demon mode, though," Yanagi stated. Every Rikkaidai regular turned to look at the data master.

"It can't be," Kirihara insisted.

"Yeah, that's not it," Jackal said. "This is _Oyama_. I don't think I've even heard the guy swear."

"I don't know, Jackal, it might be," Marui muttered. "Remember when we first met him? At the street courts?"

Jackal nodded because he did remember. Urayama and Oyama beat a couple of jerks in a three-game match. One approached Urayama, and Oyama pointed his racquet at the guy and ordered, "Don't touch him." Jackal had forgotten the way Oyama's voice changed. It was usually so calm and soft, like he thought about every word he said. But in that moment, it was dark, harsh, unforgiving.

Jackal swallowed. "Okay. He has a temper. But demon mode?"

"I mean, 'demon mode' is a pretty broad term," Marui said."He's not going bloodshot or devil like Akaya, but he looks pissed."

"Marui's correct: 'demon mode' is a broad term used to in reference to rage induced states," Yanagi confirmed. "Oyama-kun's physical abilities have increased as a result of his anger. Going by the definition Sadaharu and I created, Oyama-kun has entered a demon mode. I cannot determine what variety at this moment."

"Shit," Kirihara swore. He slammed his hands against the concrete railing. "Yukimura-buchou, listen to me. My demon modes are because I'm pissed as hell. Oyama's protective as anything over Urayama. That's more dangerous than an angsty teenage boy."

"You are aware of my rules, Akaya," Yukimura said. "I will not pull a player out of a match unless he asks to be pulled out. Any player from Rikkaidai – first year or not – has pride. This match will be played through until the end unless Urayama-kun says otherwise."

Kirihara swore again and locked his jaw. His eyes drifted back to the match.

"Game, Urayama-Oyama. Four games to three. Urayama to serve."

Urayama was shaking as he tossed the ball into the air. He served, knowing Oyama was already in position to hit anything their opponent returned.

Yamada returned the ball with a lob. Urayama didn't know what they were doing. Oyama always knew what the opponents were doing. Urayama wasn't smart enough to figure it out. Why weren't they just giving up? It would be easier. They wouldn't get hurt if they gave up.

Oyama moved back, sending a Snap back towards Saito. The ball hit his hand, forcing him to drop the racquet. The ball rolled along the ground. Satio picked up his racquet.

"Fifteen-love."

"Kenta." Urayama grabbed Oyama's wrist again. "Stop this. You're going to break their arms!" Oyama tried to jerk his arm away, but Urayama kept his grip. "I'm fine. Stop this. Tennis is supposed to be _fun_, not a competition. If you don't stop this, I'll have to stop you."

Oyama ripped his arm away, and went back to his position.

Urayama didn't have any other choice.

The short first year jogged over to the captain's bench, and put his foot on the wood. He rolled down his socks, revealing his ankle weights. He pulled out four weights, and then pulled his sock back up. He put his other foot on the bench, and did the same to that ankle.

Kirihara leaned over the railing again, holding out his hand. Urayama smiled and handed the weight sticks to his senpai.

"Don't sprint. You're still wearing a hell of a lot of weight and it'll stress out your ligaments," Kirihara warned, as if he had done it a million times before.

Urayama nodded, and then jogged back to the baseline. His steps were lighter, his body moving faster. Kirihara leaned back, stuffing the weights into his pocket.

"What was that about?" Jackal asked.

"He runs when he's upset, when he can't focus," Kirihara answered. "Just watch."

When they returned their focus to the match, Urayama was serving. He bent his body back to hit the ball, and then brought it forward. He darted forward past Oyama, reaching the front half of the court just as the ball left Saito's racquet.

Urayama moved to the ball, returning it, not caring where it went. Oyama couldn't hurt anyone if he couldn't touch the ball. That meant Urayama had to be fast, had to expose a fraction of his true speed.

Urayama saw the ball leave Yamada's racquet, knew where it would go from years of tennis. He moved into position, and hit his shot. The ball rolled along the net, falling onto the opponent's side. A perfect Tightrope Walking

"Forty-love."

"Beating up someone for being a bully doesn't stop anything," Urayama said, walking back to position. He locked eyes with Oyama. "No one else will get hurt if you can't get to the ball."

.

"Love-forty. Match point, Urayama-Oyama."

Yamada tossed the ball into the air, his arms flushed from heat and Oyama's attacks. After returning the serve, Oyama rushed forward, joining Urayama at the top half the court. Oyama was still mad, still managing to get to a ball every now and then before Urayama. Half the shots were returned by Urayama, the other half by Oyama. Half were safe, half were meant to hurt.

Saito aimed his shot at Urayama, but the shorter boy was done playing the weakling and being attacked. He wanted to end this now. He moved into position to his a Tightrope Walking, but Oyama's long arm reached out in front of him, sending a Whip back at Saito.

It was over. The ball would hit Saito's arm, and it would be done. Urayama turned to face his team, unaware of what was going on around him.

Yamada rushed forward, and returned the shot straight to Urayama, who had his head turned in the opposite direction.

"Shiita, _move_!"

Urayama turned his head. His eyes went wide as the ball flew towards him.

Then, he felt someone bump into him, and saw the net and then the ground. His jaw and cheek skid across the court. He twisted his body so he was on his back, pushing off the ground with his hands so he was sitting up. The side of his face stung like a burn.

He looked up in time to see Oyama send a Snap at Yamada. The ball hit the player in the arm, forcing a scream from him.

"Game and match, Urayama-Oyama pair!"

Urayama turned to look at Oyama, only to see him fuming. He was still mad. The shorter boy stood up, and walked in front of his partner. He grabbed the upper half of his arms, pulling down, forcing Oyama to look at him.

"Kenta. It's over. You don't have to do this anymore."

Like a cloud revealing the sun, Oyama's expression changed. His shoulders relaxed, his eyes warming. Then, his eyes fluttered shut, and his body went limp.

Everything went black as Oyama passed out.

* * *

**A/N: I will admit that this is not the best match. But it needed to be done. I'm still working on my tennis scenes, and writing a variety of movements and playing with off-court dialogue is helping. By the time I reach Nationals, the matches will be awesome. Promise.  
**

**I will go more into Urayama and Oyama's friendship in a later chapter which might shed some light on things.  
**

**Fun fact: Urayama is a pacifist.**

**Feedback would be loved :)**

**T/N: I have been waiting for this chapter for soooo long! As we all know, I just love these too, and they fit perfectly on the team. Their relationship is so interesting and it is deeper than words can express. But, um, yeah, this chapter rocks. :)**


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65.**

When Oyama came to he kept his eyes closed for a second to sort his thoughts. He had lost his temper. Urayama had been hurt because of he knocked him down. He had hurt those two third years. They had won.

When Oyama opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised by Urayama's head hovering over him, a white patch on his jaw.

"Are you okay?" the two asked at the same time. Urayama smiled. Oyama didn't.

"Are you okay?" Oyama asked a second time. Urayama nodded and moved a bit so Oyama could sit up. The tall boy sat up, putting a hand on his forehead to repress the sudden dizziness that hit him. He lied back down and turned his head to the side.

Despite the fact that Urayama was kneeling on the cement next to him, Oyama could see the court. Niou was playing his match, and he seemed to be playing without mercy from the current score of five games to one. He watched for several minutes, wondering how one player could have so much control over their opponent on the court.

"Did Marui-senpai and Jackal-senpai win?" Oyama asked, deciding to try sitting up again. The spinning wasn't as bad so he stayed up.

"Of course we won," Marui said from the row of seats in front of him. "Did you think that we could lose? And if we did for whatever reason, that reason would have been Jackal."

Oyama broke in with another question before the two started one of their pointless banters. "What happened?"

"You did that thing again." Urayama's hands gripped a bottle of purple Gatorade, his eyes looking anywhere but his partner. The white patch on his jaw moved as the first year continued, "You did that move."

"It's a bit more than that," Yanagi said, walking up from his spot next to Sanada a few rows down. "Did Akaya ever explain the demon modes to you?"

"I told you, I didn't know it was a demon mode," Kirihara said, head whipping around. "Obviously I would have told them if I knew that. I thought he just got mad."

Oyama looked at Urayama, but his attention was drawn back to Yanagi when he continued to talk. "Demon mode is a term used in reference to rage induced states. Akaya's devil mode is an example, as is his bloodshot mode. However, there are other forms that don't have such obvious physical symptoms.

"To put it simply, extreme rage causes physical changes. The rage causes the body to release extra adrenaline, which affects everyone differently. For Akaya, it's physical strength and speed. In your case, I believe you have time dilation. Due to the adrenaline you become hypersensitive, and can recall things easier than you normally do. Since time is mentally gauged by the amount of things you can remember, it appears as though events occur in slow motion. That allowed you to hit a shot which requires extreme precession. I believe Akaya called it 'Lion Tamer.'

"_However_," Yanagi continued, speaking slowly to stress his point, "rage puts stress on the body. As your adrenaline levels are increased, so are your blood pressure and heart rate. There are lasting effects from these demon modes and extreme anger. That's why we encouraged Akaya to meditate nightly. I suggest you begin to do the same. Yoga is a universal stress relieving technique. It also increases flexibility, which could fix the problem you have when returning shots aimed to the corner..."

Oyama felt as though his mouth had filled with cotton. Next to him, Urayama swallowed loudly.

"If you'd like, I can explain your condition in more detail at a later time. Perhaps Akaya could explain it to you as well," Yanagi said, more to fill the silence than to comfort the first year. He nodded at the two boys, and then turned to go stand by Sanada and finish watching Niou's match.

Oyama waited for everyone to turn their attention to the match to say "I didn't mean to."

Urayama nodded, his lips pressed together in a thin line. Oyama wouldn't apologize because he wasn't sorry for what he did. Urayama pretended that Oyama felt sorry for hurting others in his defense. It lessened the guilt that weighed down Urayama's heart, if only a little.

.

Niou won with a final score of six-two. After shaking hands (because Yukimura got mad if he didn't), Niou returned to the bleachers and sat by himself. Despite the drastic changes Niou had under gone since junior high, he still kept to himself at times. That was one of the things that would never change about the Trickster.

"Akaya, you're up," Yukimura called from the coach's bench.

The fact that Yukimura never once turned around when calling the next player had never bothered Kirhara before. This time, it bothered him. He wanted to scream in Yukimura's face that he was somebody, that he wasn't a shadow. But he knew he never would. He could never address Yukimura in such a way. When it came right down to it, Kirihara respected him too much.

Kirihara readjusted his wrist weights before grabbing his racquet and heading down to the court. Jumonji came down with a haughty swagger, his racquet on his shoulder. He never once took his gray eyes off of Kirihara, as if that was supposed to be intimidating. After years of staring into the frigid abyss Niou dared to call his eyes, Jumonji's smoky irises were nothing.

"You sure you don't want to forfeit now?" Kirihara asked. "You're team's already lost, and I'm not feeling kind today."

"Call it," Jumonji said, completely ignoring Kirihara. He put his racquet tip on the court and spun.

"Smooth."

The racquet clattered against the court. Jumonji tsk'ed, and began walking towards the baseline. "You get to serve first, you piece of scum."

Kirihara clenched his jaw and moved to his baseline. He was going to crush this boy.

"Kirihara versus Jumonji! One set match, Kirihara to serve!"

.

Kirihara served four no-touch aces with his Knuckle Serves. Jumonji was fuming with anger. When the St. Peters player had figured out where the serve was bouncing, Kirihara changed the trajectory. He spent enough practices serving to be able to do that much.

"Think you can play with me, huh?" Jumonji muttered. "Scum is scum, Kirihara. Don't forget that."

When Jumonji served, Kirihara knew it was going to hurt. The ball spun with impossible speed straight towards his stomach like a bullet. He felt his lung empty as he curled forward, his head by his knees. Yanagi and Yukimura had warned him about Jumonji's Bullet shot, but they hadn't mentioned anything about a serve.

Kirihara couldn't hear the referee call "fifteen-love" because he was coughing too hard. He always forgot how important breathing was until he was doubled over like an idiot with the wind knocked out of him. He wiped his mouth as he straightened himself, forcing himself to breath.

Jumonji's next serve wasn't as fast, but Kirihara's gut still ached. He returned the serve to the corner opposite of Jumonji, but it wasn't enough. Jumonji managed to get to the ball with ease, and shot it straight through Kirihara's legs.

"Thirty-love."

The following rallies didn't end as painlessly as the last. Kirihara managed to get two points – one by a lob to the corner, the other by hitting Jumonji's shoulder by accident. But Jumonji also managed two points – a shot to Kirihara's knee, the other when Kirihara's return hit the net.

"One game to one. Kirihara to serve."

Two games in, and it was already apparent what this match really was – two offense demons attacking each other head on.

.

"Two games to one. Kirihara leads. Jumonji to serve."

Any cheers that came from the audience were hollow, forced, terrified.

When Kirihara realized Jumonji's serve was going to hit his body, he stepped to the side, and returned the shot easily. But Jumonji was ready for the return. He hit shots to the corners, forcing Kirihara to run, until he couldn't get there in time and was forced to hit a lob.

Jumonji slammed the ball into Kirihara's thigh.

"Fifteen-love."

Kirihara rubbed the spot with the palm of his hand as Jumonji snickered. He glared at Jumonji, wishing he could tear that stupid smirk off of his lips.

He had been on edge since Urayama and Oyama's match. He didn't have the patience for this jerk, and he certainly didn't have the willpower to control the anger that boiled up deep inside of him. The anger was coming out, and he wasn't going to stop it.

"Enough of this shit!"

Kirihara stormed forward towards the net, tossing his racquet to the ground in rage. His skin began to flush as his heart pumped his blood faster and faster and faster until he felt like his chest was going to explode.

"I am sick of people belittling me!"

Kirihara reached across the net, grabbing a fistful of Jumonji's black polo. He tugged the boy forward, excited to see that the horror of Kirihara Akaya had crashed into him.

"You scared? What happened to 'scum is scum?' Scum isn't scary, right?"

"Physical contact is forbidden!" the referee shouted. "Release your opponent this instant!"

Kirihara's head rolled to the side to look at the referee, his bones seemingly nonexistent. A perverse smile overtook his face. His mouth remained a thin line until it arbitrarily burst open, twisted laughter pouring out like acid.

"And what are you going to do? Kick me out of the match?" Kirihara rolled his head again, eyes locked on Jumonji, and yanked at his shirt. "I'll still dye him red."

Jumonji smirked through his fear. "I'd like to see you try, _scum_."

Kirihara growled. He shoved Jumonji away from him and cackled, high and deafening. Then, in the blink of an eye, Kirihara grabbed his racquet off the ground and was back at the baseline. He grabbed a ball from his pocket, knees bent.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Kirihara shouted. "I'm speeding it up a little!"

Jumonji took his time getting back to the baseline. He made the wrong choice. Kirihara, angered beyond sane thought, slammed the ball across the court. It twisted and flew towards Jumonji, right into his non-dominant shoulder. Kirihara didn't want him to have to forfeit. He needed to let out some anger (and have a little fun) before he seriously hurt Jumonji.

Kirihara glared at the referee. "_Call it!_"

"F-fifteen all."

Kirihara served again, and again, and again, each Knuckle Serve powered up by his devil mode and aimed directly at Jumonji's body. Kirihara's limbs were shaking as he waited for Jumonji to stand and serve.

Memories ran in his head like clockwork– his sister ratting him out to their parents after he ran off to tennis courts, seeing An with Momoshiro, Tanaka crying, Urayama lying on the court with a bloody jaw and cheek, Oyama acting like a monster because Yukimura hadn't listened to him, and that mantra repeating like a skipping record.

_Always win. Losing is not permitted._

He was never the best at anything. Never the strongest, never the fastest, never the smartest. He was never anything special.

He was nothing, absolutely nothing, and he'd be damned if he let that stop him.

.

Jumonji did a double take when the ball flew past his head. What the hell was going on? That boy was a maniac who needed to be locked up. No one had skin that turned red and hair that went white. No sane person threatened to dye someone red.

What made it worse was that Jumonji knew Kirihara meant it.

Jumonji looked at Fukuda, who shifted on the bench. The St. Peters captain had pulled him out of the match against Yamabuki when that freak with the white hair started attacking him. This time, Fukuda had no desire to pull Jumonji out. There were too many people watching to show weakness. Even if St. Peters had already lost, they could still qualify for Nationals. They had to prove they were strong. No matter what the cost.

On the other bench, Yukimura sat motionlessly. After one ball to the chin and five to his limbs, Yukimura knew Jumonji was done. Behind him, his teammates stood silently. The older members were used to seeing Kirihara in the state, but Urayama was shaking. Kirihara couldn't tell what Oyama was thinking, but it probably wasn't good.

Kirihara's last Knuckle Serve went flying towards Jumonji's face. He returned it when some primitive instinct of protection took over. The ball flew across the court, but Kirihara flew just as fast. He returned the ball, laughing as he aimed at Jumonji's body again and again.

Jumonji finally collapsed, but instinct forced him to raise his racquet when the ball was shot at him like a bullet. The ball lobbed back across the next.

Every single Rikkaidai member who witnessed Kirihara and Yanagi's match recognized the position Kirihara took. They remembered how it looked so familiar to Sanada's Fire, but how it was so, so different.

Jumonji felt a gust of wind rush past his ear. He waited for the shot to his body, but it never came. His gray eyes searched for the ball, wondering if Kirihara had hit the net. When he didn't spot the ball, he looked at Kirihara. The Rikkaidai ace stood on the other side of the court, skin slowly losing its red hue, hair turning back to black, sanity returning to his green eyes.

Jumonji slowly turned his head towards the baseline. A ball rolled along the ground before hitting the fence. That gust of air had been the ball.

"Game and match. Kirihara wins, six games to one."

* * *

**A/N: I know the match was short (it was only 1k), but I promise this isn't Kirihara's last match and that he won't go devil during every match. I just wanted to show Kirihara in his devil mode to contrast Oyama's. Oyama keeps to himself even when enraged. Kirihara lets that emotion show.**

**And Kirihara was due for a breakdown. Just sayin'. **

**Fun Fact: Jumonji was inspired by Jumonji from **_**Eyeshield 21**_**'s earlier chapters (before he turned into a badass and one of my favorite characters).**

**Does anyone else feel a bit iffy about the whole picture thing? I like the idea, but I can't draw so I'm just like "yeah, don't care."  
**


	66. Chapter 66

**Chapter 66.**

"Game and match. Kirihara wins, six games to one."

Kirihara knew he was going to collapse like he had during his match with Yanagi. If the pure force of performing that shot made him pass out before, then the shot paired with the adrenaline rush of his devil mode practically guaranteed a coma.

His hand shook at his side, racquet tumbling out of his fingers and clattering against the court. What the hell had he just hit? It felt like Sanada's Fire, but he had never been able to get the grip right. Even if it had been the correct grip, that shot wasn't just an invading fire, it was an all consuming inferno.

Kirihara felt himself stumbling forward, his legs shaking too much to keep him upright. He was going to pass out in front of what was probably three hundred people. Then, with his luck, he'd pee his pants.

As he was falling, Urayama Shiita caught him. Kirihara couldn't fathom how someone of Urayama's stature was able to hold him up but he didn't question it. Kirihara slumped against the smaller boy, who slowly dropped him to his knees.

"Thanks," Kirihara muttered. "Niou's gonna be pissed you didn't let me crack my head open. He would've enjoyed that."

Kirihara hadn't expected him to reply. He had expected Urayama to wait for Yukimura to order Jackal and Marui to come help him to his seat. But Urayama said something. He said it so softly Kirihara wasn't sure if he had heard it at all.

"Kirihara-buchou, you were really something."

Something. Nothing. He was a walking paradox.

Eventually, Marui and Jackal were ordered onto the court to help Kirihara up. Urayama grabbed Kirihara's racquet, and scrambled off back to Oyama, who was looking better than he had when he had woken up. He was still pale, still processing that his hatred for those who hurt Urayama could cause him to lose his mind. Kirihara knew what he was thinking in that moment. It was a single word over and over and over – monster.

"I think that you need to get more sleep," Marui said, drawing Kirihara's attention away from Oyama. "Not getting enough sleep makes you cranky."

"Try a new pillow," Jackal suggested. "One without drool."

"Maybe," Kirihara said. "I think I'll just avoid future killers next time. That probably had more to do with it than my pillow."

"That could work too. Future killers are a pain," Marui said. Jackal nodded.

Kirihara smiled, but it looked more like a twitch due to all of his shaking.

When they reached the bench, Kirihara shook off his senpai, who returned to their seats. He stood shaking in front of his captain, wanting nothing more than to go and find Tanaka. He needed her to tell him that that thing he had been on the court wasn't the real him. He needed to hear his best friend tell him he wasn't that monster. He needed to hear it from her just like Oyama needed to hear it from Urayama.

"Have you been meditating as we instructed?" Yukimura asked.

"I'm sorry, Yukimura-buchou, I haven't been," Kirihara said. "I'll take the lecture later. Please give me ten minutes to find my friend. I'll be back before the end of your match."

Yukimura didn't know what to say. Kirihara had been one second away from screaming his mind out when the match ended. The adrenaline was still leaving his system, he could hardly stand. Yet, despite his racing mind and shaking limps, Kirihara was still himself. The same goofy, stubborn fool he had always been.

Yukimura stood up, grabbing his racquet. "Genchirou, take my seat. Akaya, you have ten minutes. Niou, go with him."

"I'm not watching the brat," Niou said. Kirihara would later realize Niou wasn't trying to be mean. It was just Niou's strange way of admitting the baby of the team wasn't a baby.

"Akaya, you'll be alright?" Yukimura asked. Kirihara nodded, and so did Yukimura. "Ten minutes."

Kirihara walked away, realizing moments later he should have gotten his phone. He didn't turn back to get it. Turning around would cause the spinning in his head to double in speed, and he would surely collapse. He walked away from the court and onto the cement that made up the walkways.

Tanaka always went to the closest vending machine. That was right around the corner, wasn't it? He hadn't been looking when she pointed it out on her map earlier.

He headed off in that general direction, but didn't make it far. He felt as though he could feel gravity; his legs were going to give out. He walked onto a small patch of grass that separated two walkways, and pressed his back against the tree in the center. He slid to the ground, eyes closed, his muscles sighing in relief.

In moments like that, Kirihara realized how little Yanagi understood about the demon modes. Scientifically, Yanagi had it down, but he had no comprehension of the mental effects it had on somebody. Kirihara wanted to sleep and never wake up. He didn't want the hatred that lived deep inside him to ever come out again. He couldn't let it come out again. The hatred caused nothing but trouble. He wished that the monster inside of him would cease to exist.

He tilted his head back and exhaled deeply. Just a minute. Just one minute of rest. That was all he needed for the adrenaline to subside enough for him to find Tanaka and not pass out in the process.

But apparently the world didn't want him to rest. Rather, Tachibana An didn't want him to.

"Hey there sleepy-head."

"Go away."

"No."

"_An_."

"_Akaya_."

Kirihara lazily opened his green eyes. An was sitting in front of him holding out a bottle of water. He took it, opened the pull-cap with his teeth, and shakily took a sip. Water sloshed onto his chin as he drank, and it didn't settle well in his stomach. He handed the bottle back to her.

"Thanks," he muttered, wiping the drops off his chin with the back of his hand. "Did you see Miho run off during my match?"

An shook her head, rolling the bottle in the grass between them. "I just saw you walk off the courts and knew you couldn't be in a good state because you never are after you go demon."

"I'm fine."

"You're a horrible liar."

"You're worse."

She tapped the water bottle against his ankle. "Hey, I gave up the chance to watch Yukimura play to come find you. Be nice to me."

He wanted to tease her about leaving her boyfriend to come and find him, that she must love him more than Momoshiro and that this meant they were going to have little psychopathic babies, but he couldn't seem to find the energy. The adrenaline was rapidly leaving his body. Fatigue hit him like one of Jumonji's Bullets.

His breathing deepened as they sat there in silence. She had a calming effect on him like Yanagi and Shirashi. Tanaka and Urayama had that effect, too. But, somehow, An was different. She could find him at his worse and make him smile without saying anything.

He figured people with a kind soul were able to sooth the anger that rested deep inside of him. They wrapped him in some unseen blanket of warmth and love that made him sane. An's blanket was bigger than the rest combined. He felt so safe, so calm when she was around.

"Akaya?"

"Hmm?"

"You really do look like crap."

"I still look better than you."

Knowing there was no venom in his comeback, she smiled.

Kirihara closed his eyes and let the warmth of her presence engulf him.

He thought of An, and how he and she used to be a "they." They used to play a match on the street courts between Tokyo and Kanagawa, order a pizza, and eat it in the middle of a court in the dead of night. They called them their "tezza dates." He missed those nights.

Without warning, she pressed a hand to his arm. It only lasted a second, but Kirihara instantly knew it wasn't An's hand. An's hand had calluses from tennis, but they were smooth because she used lotion. The hand that touched him was callous free.

"Akaya, you have to wake up."

Kirihara opened his eyes. Tanaka was sitting in front of him, not An. He rubbed his eyes and tilted his head forward away from the tree. "Why are you here?"

"Tachibana found me," Tanaka said. "You fell asleep."

"How long have I been out?" he asked, a small bubble of panic in his voice. He had told Yukimura he would be back in ten minutes. He didn't want that lecture about not controlling his temper to include being late. He had already snapped at Yukimura during Oyama and Urayama's match – "This is _your _fault" he had told Yukimura – and being late would ensure a painful punishment. Or death.

"She got me a minute ago. She said you were out for about five minutes before she left to find me. This is for you."

Tanaka handed him An's water bottle. He took the bottle and began taking small sips, thankful his hands had stopped violently shaking. They tingled, but no shaking.

"I'm glad you're okay," Tanaka said, smiling.

"Yeah." She reached out and brushed curls out of his eyes. He swished his hair to the side. As she tugged her hand back he smiled. "You know, anyone else would take that as a move. You totally just made a move on me."

She snorted. "_Please._ You're not my type."

"That's right. You don't like psychopaths."

"Akaya," Tanaka sighed. "You and I both know that's not you. You just get mad. You couldn't harm a fly. People change when they're mad. You've seen me get mad and know that it's_ not_ a pretty sight."

Kirihara grinned. She was right. Tanaka would take his devil mode on if she was mad. The girl was downright scary until she did something ridiculously stupid in her rage that had her laughing until she cried.

Kirihara somehow managed to stand up without falling. He gripped An's water bottle with one hand, and helped Tanaka up with the other. She brushed her hands against her butt to make sure her pants hadn't gotten dirty. Kirihara took another sip of water, and then began walking back to the court. Tanaka followed.

"You know," Tanaka began, "I got a pack of Oreos at the vending machine while I waited for you."

"And?"

"I did the best cookie twist. No icing on the cookie. It was badass. I took a picture in case skeptics questioned my awesome skills."

Kirihara laughed again. He would have asked to see the picture, but they were back at the court. Tanaka smiled at him, and then headed up the stands back to her seat.

Kirihara jogged over to the regulars, waiting to look at the match because if he looked before reaching the others he would have stood rooted in one placed, fascinated. He sat down next to his tennis bag, and gripped An's water bottle tightly as he finally focused on the match.

The safety Tanaka and An had granted him had disappeared. Yukimura's matches still did that to him, even after all these years. They made him feel exposed, raw, weak. It was impossible to escape the captain's presence when he stepped onto a court.

The stands were silent. The only sound was from the ball on the court below. Yukimura stood at the baseline like he owned the court, like he was born to be there, and served.

Fukuda's breath was breath ragged and forced. He had the same wild-eyed stare everyone did when playing Yukimura. Kirihara could tell he still had his senses because his eyes followed Yukimura's serve, which was far beyond his ability to return.

The score was five games to zero with a point count of forty to love.

The next serve ended the match. Rikkaidai had defeated St. Peters five matches to zero.

Fukuda collapsed onto his knees, coughing. Kirihara knew that look too well. Fukuda felt raw, exposed, weak beyond words. What had he done to make that egotistical jerk break? Then Kirihara remembered that this was Yukimura, and all he had to do was play tennis.

The Rikkaidai captain walked to the net, his jacket resting on his shoulders. He kept his eyes on Fukuda, but he spoke loudly, loud enough for every team that came to see Rikkaidai play to hear, "I will not hold back the next time one of my teammates is harmed."

Yukimura Seiichi turned, his jacket whipping behind him like a dagger.

.

The club members were happy enough to win. They ate lunch under the pavilion and in the surrounding grass, laughing, discussing this shot or that shot, gossiping. For the regulars, it wasn't that simple. Matches like that took a toll on them both mentally and physically.

Yukimura, Sanada and Yanagi sat together in the grass on a blanket Yanagi had brought. Instead of talking about their match, they talked about the Seigaku-Fudomine match which was being held after lunch.

Niou and Yagyuu wandered around, eating vending machine food as they walked. Yagyuu called Naomi, who was at a friend's house.

Marui and Jackal sat in the grass under a tree. After shoving something sugary into his mouth, Marui called Suzuki to see how her match went. She won, which wasn't really a surprise to Marui. After hanging up, Jackal offered his partner a headphone. Marui took it, and then opened up a pudding.

Kirihara had been sitting in the grass with Tanaka, looking at the picture-evidence of the perfect Oreo twist, when Urayama and Oyama came over. When they sat down, Tanaka smiled and said their match was great, acting as though the last half of the match never happened. Urayama still had the bandage on his jaw from when he skidded against the court. Oyama couldn't meet his partner's eyes.

Oyama opened up a brown paper bag, pulling out a plastic wrapped cinnamon bun the size of his fist. Tanaka stared at it and asked, "Is that a cinna-bun from Comet Café?"

"Yes."

"How many do you have?"

Kirihara sighed. "Miho, you can't ask people for their food."

"It's alright, Kirihara-senpai. I brought extras." Oyama handed her the one in her hand, and then reached into the bag, pulling out two more. He handed one to Urayama, and kept the other for himself.

"So, uh, how many extra?" Kirihara asked, looking at the one Tanaka had with envious green eyes. Oyama handed him one. Kirihara grinned. "Sweet. Thanks."

Kirihara unwrapped the sweet, the icing covering his fingers within seconds. He moved the cinnamon roll into one hand, licking the fingers on his other.

"Are we going to watch Fudomine and Seigaku's match?" Urayama asked.

Kirihara nodded as he wiped his wet fingers on his shorts. "Seigaku is favored to win 'cause Echizen is back. People think Seigaku will be invincible."

"Is he the one you spent two weeks swearing about because he went to America to enter pro tournaments?" Tanaka asked.

"Yup," Kirihara answered. "And he's back. Damned brat."

Tanaka rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."

"He didn't play in the Tokyo Prefectural and he hasn't played in this tournament yet either," Kirihara said. "I don't get the big deal. I saw some of his matches on TV. Honestly, he's no better than he was three years ago. He's plateaued. We'll kick his ass in the Finals; he'll have to play then."

"If Fudomine doesn't beat them first," Oyama said.

"It doesn't really matter," Kirihara said. "We'll cream whoever wins next week in Finals, and whoever loses will beat St. Peters to claim the third spot to Nationals. It's as simple as that."

"And I announce that it is now time to stop talking about tennis because I feel left out," Tanaka said. "I suggest we either start comparing people we know to animals or break out into uniform song and dance. Oh, we could also play rock-paper-scissors- meteor-dinosaur."

Oyama stared at Tanaka for a moment. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"She did a perfect Oreo-twist. You can't do that if you're not serious," Kirihara said.

"People kinda think we're insane," Tanaka said to Oyama. "But obviously we're the shit."

Oyama nodded, his face blank.

"I'm gonna go get another drink," Urayama said. He stood up, holding an empty purple Gatorade bottle. "You guys want anything?"

He was greeted with a chorus of no's. He walked off the grass and back onto the cement, heading for the machine around the corner. He didn't need a drink. He had a water bottle in his tennis bag. He just had the feeling Kirihara needed to talk to Oyama. He figured Tanaka was a smart girl and would get that message too.

Urayama eventually found a vending machine. Two third years in Rikkaidai yellow stood in front of it, laughing obnoxiously, like they were the ones who had won the matches. Urayama tossed his empty bottle into a trash can and walked over.

"Excuse me," Urayama said politely.

The boys turned to him. "Oh, look at this. We were just talking about you."

"Um, okay?" Urayama pointed at the machine. "Can I just get a drink?"

"You're a first year, right?" one boy asked even though he knew the answer. "The one who plays with the ogre?"

"Hey," the other boy said, "are you two fags?"

Urayama's heart seemed to speed up. He knew that tone, knew where this was going. He already had enough to deal with. The last thing he wanted was a bruise or bloodied up knees.

Urayama forced a smile. "I'll go find another machine."

As he turned, one boy stuck his leg out. Urayama stumbled, but caught himself before his knees skidded against the ground. He took in a deep breath, stood up, and kept walking. If he talked back, he would get hit – he knew that much.

He passed by another third year, Hayashi, as he walked in the direction he had come from.

"Ikeda, Goto – come on!" Hayashi shouted.

Urayama recognized them once he heard their names. They were the two who whispered things in Kirihara's ear when they thought no one was looking. Urayama didn't know what he said, but from what they had just said and did to him, his imagination could fill in the rest.

When he got back to where the rest of the team was and sat down next to Oyama, Kirihara gave him a look.

"Weren't you getting a drink?" he asked.

"Decided not to get one."

"Cool, you're just in time for rock-paper-scissors- meteor-dinosaur," Tanaka said.

Urayama forced another smile.

.

Half way through the final round of rock-paper-scissors-meteor-dinosaur, Yukimura walked over. He told Urayama and Oyama to follow him. The two first years followed, looking as equally confused as Kirihara. They stopped by a tree, away from the prying ears of the team.

"After your match with Niou and Yagyuu, I made a deal with them. Rikkaidai men always hold true to their word." Yukimura smiled gently. "Welcome to the team."

"What?" Urayama asked dumbly. "We're already on the team, Buchou."

"The regulars," Yukimura clarified.

"What?" Urayama repeated.

"Would you mind explaining, Yukimura-buchou?" Oyama asked.

"Niou and Yagyuu asked that you two play against physical opponents, and that if you won, you would be the doubles reserve," Yukimura explained. "I'm not promising you two will play in Nationals, but if one of our doubles pairs is unable to play or is ill-suited for the match, you two could possibly play."

Urayama smiled. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously." Yukimura smiled. "Just don't tell anyone quite yet, even the regulars. There are a few papers that need to be filled out. We'll announce it to the regulars sometime before Finals."

"Thank you, Buchou," Urayama said. Oyama nodded, silent.

"Congratulations," Yukimura said. Then, he walked away.

When Urayama and Oyama came back, Kirihara demanded to know what that was about. Oyama said he wanted to know how to play rock-paper-scissors-meteor-dinosaur.

.

The Rikkaidai regulars headed over to the Seigaku-Fudomine match after lunch. They passed the Seigaku team as they were walking towards the courts to warm up. Tezuka walked in the front, the rest of the regulars following behind him. In the very back was Echizen, his white cap pulled down, a can of soda pressed to his lips.

"The brat's still short," Niou said.

"I bet I'm taller than him," Marui added.

"And he could still beat both of you," Sanada snapped. "Stop gossiping and hurry up."

Urayama stared at Echizen's ankles. Urayama knew what ankle weights looked like under socks – bulky with sharp edges. Echizen's right ankle looked like that, but the left was smoother, not as bulky. It was like something other than a weight was on his right ankle.

"Shiita?"

Urayama looked at his partner. "It's nothing. Just – nothing."

"Then let's go. I don't want to miss this."

Urayama nodded. "Yeah."

.

There were no words to describe the matches between the two teams.

Urayama felt a little more out than of place amongst the Rikkaidai players who did nothing but offer critical analyses, their faces blank with seriousness. Urayama was more than impressed by the team's power, his jaw dropping more than once.

Doubles-two was Momoshiro and Kaidoh versus Uchimura and Mori. Half way through the match, it became obvious that Momoshiro's Dunk Smash couldn't be stopped, and neither could Kaidoh's clever shots. Seigaku won six-three.

Doubles-one was Fuji and Kikumaru versus Ishida and Sakurai. Despite Fuji's skills, Kikumaru never quite reached his peak again. Even after three years, another partner had yet to support Kikumaru as Oishi had. Fudomine won seven-five.

Singles-three was Arai versus Kamio. Urayama couldn't help but smile at Kamio's speed. Seeing him play made Urayama restless, the need to run growing. Fudomine won six-two.

Singles-two was Inui versus Ibu. Yanagi announced the match would end with Fudomine's victory because that Ibu had a new shot and Inui's data couldn't be completed within one match. He was right, of course. Fudomine won six-three.

Fudomine had officially claimed their spot in finals with three wins. But that didn't mean the battle was over.

Singles-one was Tezuka versus Tachibana. The court was silent as the two immediately pulled out the big guns – Zero Shikis and Monster Auras. Their shots were near impossible to follow, but Urayama managed.

Urayama stepped forward, clinging to the chain link fence. Yanagi had to put a hand on his shoulder and tug him back, saying, "Don't hurt your fingers, Urayama-kun."

After an intense tie-breaker, Tezuka won seven-six.

"Tezuka's arm seems to be fine," Yukimura said as they walked away. "Seigaku better win their consolation match. If not we're having a practice match with them."

"Echizen didn't play," Kirihara said bitterly.

"He'll play in Nationals," Sanada said. "Arai isn't at National level. If they don't use Echizen, they'll lose."

Yukimura smiled. "They better lose to us. If they lose to anyone else, I'd be insulted."

People moved as Yukimura walked towards them, his faithful players behind him. It took Urayama a minute to realize that he was part of this team. He smiled.

* * *

**A/N: I know it was a slightly random chapter, but I didn't want to break it up into two separate chapters. So I apologize for the jump-y-ness and random-ness. **


	67. Chapter 67

**Chapter 67.  
**

When Suzuki came to wake up Marui, she was invited in by his mother. Haruto and Hikaru were sitting at the table poking at their toast and eggs. Their father, Marui's step-father, was beside the twins telling them to eat properly. Suzuki took a plate for herself and waited for Marui to come down. The tennis player stared at the table when he came into the kitchen.

"What's up with the orange juice commercial crap?" he asked.

"Language," his mother replied. "Sit down, Bunta. And no, you may not have nutella on your toast so don't even ask."

As they ate their breakfast, Haruto and Hikaru talking about soccer. Their season had ended a few weeks ago when they lost a match. They were still a little down about it, but it had been a good season, and the high school coach already told them he was interested in them joining the team next year.

Suzuki explained the softball tournament to Marui's mother. She had a game that afternoon. If they won, they would go to Nationals. If they didn't, their season was over. Marui's mother assured her that they would win, but Suzuki couldn't seem to convince herself that they would.

They headed off to school – "No morning practice, heck yeah!" Marui shouted – and then straight to the classroom. Marui and Suzuki sat down in their desks, waiting for the day to beginning. Suzuki tapped her fingers along her desk for several seconds, then began to fiddle with her hair, and then tapped Marui on the shoulder.

"What?" Marui asked as he turned around. He furrowed his brow. "You okay? You look sick."

"My match this afternoon decides whether or not we go to Nationals," she said for the millionth time that morning. She let out a shaky breath. "I'm going to be sick."

"I'll be there, okay? At least for the end of it," Marui said in some attempt to reassure her. "And so will the baseball team, including your boyfriend."

"Ito is not my boyfriend." She reached out and hit him on the shoulder. She pulled her arm back and shook her head. "Okay. No use worrying, right? Whatever happens happens." She paused. "But what if we lose?"

"Then you got the softball team through Kanto Regionals, and next year the school will respect them so they get better equipment and more field time."

"But I want to win," she whined.

He poked her forehead. "Then win."

She swatted his hand away as Niou walked over and sat in his seat next to her. He shoved a piece of paper onto Suzuki's desk, and then began to pull his books out of his bag.

Suzuki grabbed the paper. "What's this?"

"Lover boy told me to give it to you. I didn't feel like being an ass today, so I did."

Suzuki turned red – whether it was out of anger or embarrassment, Marui didn't know. "Ito is not a 'lover boy!' And just admit I'm your friend, and that's why you gave it to me."

Niou pointed to Suzuki's desk. "Spider."

Suzuki jumped, realized there was nothing on her desk, and then turned to Niou. She hit him, thinking that she was being more physically violent than usual. Not that it mattered. She wasn't strong enough to seriously hurt either of them. Well, unless she wanted to.

Suzuki opened the piece of paper and read what Ito wrote – _If you lose, you've got to go out with me. That motivation enough to win?_

That's motivation to lose, she thought miserably.

"What's it say?" Marui asked, leaning over her desk to look at the note.

Suzuki pulled it away, and stuffed it into her bag. "Nothing. Just the usual short jokes."

Marui believed her and turned to Niou to talk about tennis.

.

Kirihara stretched his hands out above his head when the lunch bell rang. Tanaka turned her desk around and pulled her lunch out of her bag. Kirihara looked down into his bag to try to find his lunch. He saw his phone screen light up at the side of the bag and grabbed the device. There was a text from Yukimura.

_Tell Urayama and Oyama to come to afternoon practice._

Kirihara furrowed his brow. Afternoon practice was regulars-only. Maybe he wanted to discuss the Semifinal match with them? Or maybe Yukimura wanted Kirihara to talk to them about demon modes? He hadn't done that yet...

"What's up?" Tanaka asked.

"I gotta go," Kirihara said as he stood up and pocketed his cell phone. "Miho, don't let Satoshi eat my lunch."

"Hey, I wouldn't do that," Miyagi argued.

Tanaka grinned at Kirihara. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises."

Kirihara shot Miyagi a don't-you-dare look and headed for the door. He felt bad leaving Tanaka and Miyagi alone because things had changed between them, but he didn't have a choice. They could stand five minutes of awkward silence.

Kirihara headed down the first year hallway and poked his head into Oyama and Urayama's classroom. He spotted Oyama sitting in the back surrounded by a group of boys. They were Urayama's friends; Kirihara recognized a few from the club. The tennis ace walked over and the boys went silent. Kirihara wondered if it was out of respect for a senpai or fear.

"Where's Urayama?" Kirihara asked.

"Bathroom," Oyama answered.

"You two need to come to afternoon practice. Don't be late. Seriously, being late isn't fun because there aren't enough members to hide from Sanada-fukubuchou."

Oyama nodded slowly.

Kirihara pivoted and left the room, not listening to the heated gossip he had created.

.

Urayama ran his hands under the water. The bathroom door opened, but he didn't pay it any attention. He turned off the water, shook his hands, and looked up into the mirror. Two first years from the class next to his stood behind him. Urayama didn't know their names, but he knew the look in their eyes.

Urayama turned to get a paper towel. One of the boys grabbed his shoulder and shoved his back against the edge of the sink.

"Hey, pillowbiter, which urinal did you use?" the boy asked as he dug his fingers into Urayama's shoulder. "I don't want your fag germs."

"What?"

The other boy laughed. "I don't think he heard you."

The first boy made a first with his free hand and held it in front of Urayama's face. "Did you hear me, fag? Or do I need to bash your head into the wall?"

"I used the first one," Urayama answered quickly. "Let me go."

The boy lowered his fist and shoved Urayama to the side. Urayama caught his footing before he fell to the ground. He sprinted for the door, but the second he walked out into the hallway, he slowed down. If someone saw him running, they would know something was wrong.

He walked back to class, taking deep breaths to calm himself and block out their laughter. He sat down next to Oyama. A sense of safety returned to him when he was surrounded by his friends.

"Kirihara-senpai came by," one of his other friends said.

"Really? What for?" Urayama asked.

"We have to go to afternoon practice," Oyama answered.

"Awesome!" Urayama smiled.

Oyama smiled, too.

.

The first years were interrogated by their friends. Many of them had been regulars last year in junior high and the idea of their former teammates becoming part of the famous team caused murderous thoughts or led to congratulations. Oyama was the only one who pointed out that they weren't part of the team yet, at least not officially.

"Oh, come on, Kenta, be happy!"

Urayama shouted that during the middle of an English lecture and would have gotten detention if Oyama hadn't said, "I wasn't following, so Shiita gave me an example in Japanese."

Urayama sunk into his seat, ignoring the snickers from his friends. "Thanks, Kenta."

"Just be quiet," Oyama muttered out of the corner of his mouth, looking down at his notes.

The rest of the day went by quickly and soon the first years were let out. The Circus Pair and their friends headed to the lobby, and then broke into two separate groups. Their friends wished them luck before they headed for the courts.

The girls' team was on the courts and the two wondered if they were doing a co-ed practice like the baseball and softball teams.

When Urayama and Oyama walked into the locker room, the room went silent. Marui purposefully pulled his bubble back into his mouth to keep it from popping and ruining the perfect cinematic silence.

"Hello, Urayama-kun, Oyama-kun," Yukimura said.

"Hey," Urayama replied, walking towards the back. Oyama followed and clanked a jolly rancher against his teeth. They stopped a few feet away from the regulars' lockers. "So, uh, why are we here?"

"Team, meet the net teammates," Yukimura said with a smile, never once looking away from the two. "They're doubles-reserve."

Yanagi and Sanada had already known, and therefore weren't surprised at all. Niou and Yagyuu had arranged the deal, so they knew what their win at Kanto meant. Marui took credit for teaching them and Jackal elbowed him mumbling, "They're teaching _us_." Marui rolled his eyes.

Kirihara smiled at the two and exclaimed, "Awesome!"

"Now," Yukimura continued, cutting off any murmurs or congratulations, "you two will have to see everyone for phone numbers and such at some point. We'll have name plates for your lockers by next week so until then use your old ones."

"Can we use the regular shower room?" Urayama asked eagerly.

"Yes," Yukimura answered. Urayama literally jumped. Yukimura tilted his head slightly. "Are the non-regular showers that bad?"

Urayama answered without taking a breath: "It's all cold water and people sing and other guys have no shame and it smells and it's horrible."

"Calm down Ice-Cream-Head," Niou said.

"You're going to break something," Marui added.

"There are also responsibilities," Sanada said. "You must help other members with their form and serves, you must referee matches when asked to, and you must attend team meetings."

"We'll also be testing your singles skills within the preceding weeks," Yanagi said.

"Uh, singles?" Urayama asked. Yanagi nodded. "I can't play singles. At all."

"Then we'll work on it," Yukimura said. "Now, change, and then go to the indoor gym. I requested the indoor gym and ball machines so the girls are using the courts for today. Perhaps you could try bonding with the other regulars?"

Urayama nodded and walked towards his locker on the far side of the room.

Marui grabbed a stereo out of the bottom of his locker when he was done changing and headed off with Jackal. Niou and Yagyuu followed. They left their tennis gear in their lockers. Kirihara went to follow his senpai after tugging on his polo.

"Oh, Akaya, you're coming with us to the machines," Yanagi said as the ace began to head for the door.

The second year nodded. He had wanted to congratulate Oyama and Urayama, but it looked like that had to wait.

Kirihara waited for his three senpai to finish changing (Sanada changed like an old slug), and then followed them to the ball machines. There were five machines set up on the other side of five nets. It was where the girls usually practiced unless Yukimura requested the room. If Yukimura requested the room, that meant someone was going to be drilled. Kirihara had a feeling he knew who that was going to be.

"You've done the move twice," Yukimura said. "Both times in a demon mode. Learn how to do it without the anger."

"But my grip isn't strong enough, that's why I can only do it in a demon mode," Kirihara said.

"Three years ago your grip was not strong enough," Sanada corrected.

"Just try, Akaya," Yanagi said kindly. "If you can't get it then we can try tomorrow. The girls are more than willing to let us the gym so they can use the courts."

Kirihara nodded, suddenly determined with his heroes watching him, and moved to one of the courts. He gripped his racquet tightly, knowing he had to hold on tight or it wouldn't work. The others stood to the side, a remote for the machine in Yukimura's hand.

"Go," Yukimura said.

The ball shot out of the machine. Kirihara took his position and returned the ball. It wasn't the shot they wanted, but it was the right grip. That was the easy part. He could hit the ball the first time with the proper grip. Returning the next shot without losing the racquet was the hard part.

"Again," Yukimura ordered.

Another ball shot out of the machine. Kirihara took the position Sanada did when preparing to hit Fire. He had seen his vice-captain do it a million times. Yet when it came time for him to hit, the racquet blew out of his hand.

"Again."

Kirihara picked up his racquet, getting back into position. He tried swinging a split second earlier than before, but it didn't make any difference. His wrist felt like it was exploding into a million pieces – Kirihara dropped his racquet, grabbing his wrist.

"Again."

Invade like fire, that's what Sanada always said. He said it was power that one had to learn to control, to extinguish at a moment's notice. But even when Kirihara concentrated on the ball coming towards him, visualizing of how he would see it zoom across the net, how he would be the only controlling it, it wasn't enough to keep the racquet in his hand.

"Again."

Kirihara gripped his racquet and moved back into position. He didn't have control like Sanada. He couldn't extinguish his anger, let alone put a limit on his power. Power just came out of him, intense and wild. The ball came in contact with his racquet and he kept his grip, but the ball went haywire, crashing into the net.

"_Again_."

Kirihara realized he wasn't like Sanada's fire and that could never be like that. Fire was a controlled processed that could be limited, contained. Sanada had the control to do that. Kirihara didn't. Any fire he produced was destructive, intense, limitless. It completely consumed him.

His fire was like an inferno.

Kirihara shifted his grip, rotated his feet just a bit. It felt more natural than Sanada's stance – less controlled, more free. When the ball came towards him, his body just moved. When the ball hit his racquet it didn't go flying out of his hand. He forced the ball back over the net, watching as it slammed into the court before rolling towards the machine.

Kirihara looked over at Yanagai, Sanada, and Yukimura.

"Again," Yukimura ordered.

Kirihara nodded with the world's largest smile.

.

The other regulars headed to the indoor gym. The basketball nets were pushed up into the ceiling and the bleachers into the wall.

Marui set the stereo down near a wall and pluged in his ipod. He selected his pump-up playlist that he listened to on the way to matches and during his morning jog. He cranked up the volume and began to dance.

Niou rolled his eyes at the song choice and at his teammate. "Stop shimming and lose the shoes."

"Shoes?" Urayama asked.

"We do it whenever we're in here," Marui said. He danced over, bumping his hip against Niou's. The Trickster shoved him, which finally made the red head stop dancing. "Drop the shoes and any ankle weights."

"I'm still really confused," Urayama admitted.

Jackal toed out of his shoes, kicking one off in Marui's direction. The red head swore and tossed his left shoe back at his partner. Niou tossed his right shoe at the back of Marui's head.

"Slid across the gym in your socks," Yagyuu said. He was the only third year in the room not using his shoes as a projectile; he hadn't even taken his shoes off. "The winner doesn't get a prize. They get –"

"Bragging rights," Marui and Jackal said in unison.

Urayama smiled. "That's really awesome." He grabbed Oyama's arm with one hand so he didn't fall as he began to take off his shoes. He unhooked his weights, gently setting them onto the wooden floor.

Oyama gave his partner a look. "All of your weights?"

"You're just jealous because I'm awesome."

"That made no sense whatsoever, Shiita."

Urayama stuck out his tongue at his partner and then turned to the third years. "'kay. Shoes off."

"You start at one end of the basketball court, run to the half court line, and then slide," Jackal explained. "Bunta swears he made it to the other end line, but none of us believe him. Niou has the official longest slide."

Marui jogged over to the end line, wiggling his hips overdramatically. Jackal moved so he was standing next to his partner. The two began doing some insanely old fashioned, finger-pointing disco moves.

Niou stood on Marui's other side. Urayama rushed over, giving Oyama a look when he slid into place next to Jackal.

"Come on, Kenta, don't be a party pooper."

"Party pooper!" Marui and Jackal shouted. They were having way too much fun with the whole scenario, Oyama decided.

Oyama moved to the side with Yagyuu and leaned against one of the walls. "I'll be the judge," he caved. "That's all I'm doing."

"You have to count down," Marui said.

Oyama sighed. "Three, two, one – go."

The five took off. The third years stopped after several steps, but Urayama kept going. He ran – sprinted – and then slid sideways. He stuck his arms out, trying to narrow out his body. Maybe it was how fast he was going or how tiny he was, but he slid to the far end of the court. No, it was definitely his speed.

"Holy crap," Marui muttered. "Dude. Did you guys just see that? Because if not I'm tripping balls."

Urayama pivoted easily in his socks, grinning at his elders. "I win."

The others stared. Oyama shook his head and held back a sigh. So much for a secret weapon for Nationals.

.

The boys returned to the locker room. Yukimura drifted into his office while Yanagi entered the shower. The others changed, making plans or laughing about how Marui fell on his ass when he tried to slide as far as Urayama. Then they all ended up explaining to the first years how Niou had that insane party when they were first years and Niou's piano-alcohol-experience.

Apparently, now that they were regulars, the first years had to learn every embarrassing secret and inside joke. From Shitenhouji elves to Prank Wars, even as far back as Niou not being friends with them. They were part of the team, part of a family, and that meant being the annoying younger siblings.

Marui snuck out half way through Kirihara's over exaggerated telling of the one time he won a Squirt Gun War. The red head headed for the baseball-softball fields, hoping he could at least catch the last few throws of Suzuki's game.

By the time he arrived, all he heard was "We Are the Champions." The softball team huddled together on the field in a mass of black and yellow. Marui wiggled his way through the crowd just in time to see Ito, Bando, and a few other baseball starters join the celebration.

Suzuki broke away from her hug with Etsuko and jumped towards Ito. The baseball player caught her, spinning her a few times before putting her down. She shouted "NATIONALS!" into his ear, which caused Ito to cover his ears and Suzuki to laugh.

Marui wondered if Suzuki and Ito were together and she was just screwing with him. Judging by the kicked-puppy look Ito had when she went back to her girls, Marui doubted that was it. Marui loved that girl like a sister, but sometimes even he had to admit how stupid she was.

.

Marui hung outside the girls' locker room, nodding or smiling in congratulations to the girls he recognized. Eventually Suzuki came out, her sweat-dampened hair pulled back and her lips stretched into a grin. She had glitter in her hair, probably from a quick locker room celebration.

"Nationals." She walked over and gave him a high-five that stung. "Freak yeah."

"Aren't you heading out to celebrate?" Marui asked.

"Tomorrow. The baseball team has one more game, and we're going out after they win. Because they will. If they don't, I'll personally castrate them all and use their balls at Nationals. I love saying that. Nationals. _Nationals._ Bubbly."

"Bubbly?"

"Try saying bubbly when you're mad." Marui tried. Suzuki grinned when he smiled. "Exactly. Bubbly and Nationals. Best day ever."

"You're high," Marui declared.

"Am not."

"Are to."

"Obviously I'm a pot head," Suzuki replied sarcastically. "Did you miss the massive amounts of illegal drugs in my bag?"

"See, I wouldn't notice. I prefer coke. Much better ball tripage."

Suzuki rolled her eyes.

The two headed home, Suzuki recapping all the details Marui missed, which was everything. They stopped by the Corner Market to pick up two pints of ice-cream, one for each of them, and ate them with plastic spoons as they walked to Suzuki's house.

"And then I pitched this ball. You should have seen the look on the girl's face. Priceless. She just stood there like a statue. Then, we won."

"So Nationals," Marui said. He shoved a spoonful of chocolate ice-cream into his mouth.

Suzuki nodded. "Yup. Knock-out tournament in June. Can't wait."

The softball team never got the respect it deserved. Rikkaidai High was a highly competitive, well known sports school, and all athletes were granted automatic respected. Except for Suzuki and her girls. For the first time in years, she got them to Kanto Regionals. The fact that she got them to Nationals was huge. The softball team would finally be respected. Not as much as Marui got as a regular on a team with two consecutive National titles, but respect nonetheless.

When they reached Suzuki's house, she pulled her keys out of her bag and unlocked the door. They set down their things, tossed their empty ice-cream containers into the trashcan in the kitchen, and headed upstairs to Suzuki's bedroom.

Suzuki sat down on her bed, pulling her cell phone out. Marui stared at Suzuki's bare dresser. He knew something was missing, but he couldn't figure out what. Ito's scarf was tossed over several photos, there was her first bat, and a few other random things. But something was missing.

"I'm thinking about getting a lizard to replace Kiwi," Suzuki said thoughtfully as she looked up from her phone.

"Kiwi's dead?" Marui asked. That's when he realized the animal's cage was gone. He looked devastated when Suzuki nodded. "But he was the best stoner hamster!"

"And lived for a year and a half. That thing was a beast. Like I said, lizard. Always wanted one."

Marui remembered the lizard catastrophe Niou had caused when starting Prank War IV – six lizards running around in the locker room and no way to catch them. He shook his head.

"No, definitely not lizards."

"I want a lizard."

"You're evil."

"You just figured that out?"

* * *

**A/N: Leave me a lovely little review? **


	68. Chapter 68

**Chapter 68.**

The Final matches of Kanto Regionals were like honey for tennis scouts. Teams from all over the country came to see Rikkaidai play Fudomine. Dozens of reporters and teams were already walking around, snapping pictures and videos. Students from the schools came in support, some going as far as making banners. Rikkaidai cheerleaders walked around, handing out yellow flags and eye blacks.

The match to determine the third team going to Nationals – Seigaku or St. Peters – was being held in the morning. The Rikkaidai-Fudomine match wasn't until the afternoon.

After the buses had arrived, Urayama and Oyama went with Kirihara who went to meet Miyagi at the front gate. Miyagi didn't say anything to Kirihara, he just looked at Oyama.

"Dude. Stop growing already. It's unfair. You were tall enough back in junior high." Oyama didn't smile, but Kirihara and Urayama did. Miyagi looked at people as they walked past, and then added, "Everyone is looking at you three."

"It's the yellow," Kirihara said.

"Because it's ugly?" Miyagi replied.

Kirihara hit him. "Dude, shut up. I have places to go. People to meet."

"Who the hell would want to meet you?"

Kirihara rolled his eyes, and began walking. Miyagi followed, and so did Urayama and Oyama. There was something about being surrounded by the same people – his friends, Rikkaidai, Seigaku, Hyotei, Fudomine – that made him nostalgic. This was the last time these people would be together to play. It would never be like this again. This was almost the end.

As they turned the corner, Kirihara saw another shade of yellow. Shitenhouji.

Kirihara began to walk over, Miyagi in tow. Kenya spotted Kirihara, and then tapped a black haired boy on the shoulder. Zaizen turned, hands in his pockets, and began walking over. Tooyama took off at a sprint, yelling, "YAMA BUDDIES!"

Kirihara and Miyagi froze, watching the red head run past them and grab Oyama and Urayama into a hug. Urayama smiled, hugging back with one arm. Oyama looked at Kirihara, as if silently asking for help.

Zaizen walked over, rolling his eyes. "Kintarou was counting down the days until we came here." Kirihara and Zaizen bumped fists. "My senpai told me about your match last week. You're getting weak if you're losing your temper."

Kirihara rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"What the hell is that?" Miyagi asked, pointing at Zaizen's ear. "That looks like it hurts like hell."

Zaizen reached up and rubbed one of his earrings. "The tragus?"

Miyagi made a face. "Ow. It hurts to look at it."

"It doesn't hurt at all." Zaizen lowered his hand, turning his head to look at Tooyama, Urayama, and Oyama. The three had stopped hugging, but Tooyama and Urayama were still bouncing excitedly. "Are they on the team?"

"Doubles reserve. Have you seen Hiyoshi around?"

Zaizen looked back at Kirihara and shook his head. He furrowed his brow. "Where's Tanaka?"

"Long story," Miyagi said, waving his hand dismissively. He didn't meet Zaizen's eyes. Kirihara couldn't remember the last time he heard Miyagi say Tanaka's name.

"You guys are going to Nationals, right?" Kirihara asked.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

Kirihara shrugged. "I don't know. You guys suffered some embarrassing defeat? Hey, who came in second in your region?"

"An art-magnet school, Maiden Rose."

Tooyama grabbed Urayama's wrist, who grabbed Oyama's, and dragged them over to where Zaizen, Kirihara, and Miyagi were. Tooyama knew Zaizen was friends with Kirihara and that mushroom head from Hyotei, but he had no idea who the other boy was. He didn't look like a tennis player so Tooyama didn't really care.

"Zaizen, can I go find Koshimae?" Tooyama asked. "I wanna see him before his match. These guys have never met him and they have to or else I won't play."

"He thinks we're here to play whoever wins the Finals," Zaizen mentioned to Kirihara. He turned to his kouhai. "I don't care. Ask Shirashi."

Tooyama turned towards the other Shitenhouji regulars and shouted, "Shirashi! Can I find Koshimae with my Yama Buddies?"

Shirashi nodded.

"Yes!" Tooyama tossed his hands into the air, bringing Urayama's arm with it since he still had a hold of his wrist. "Come on guys. Off to find Koshimae!"

The three ran off, Oyama looking over his shoulder at Kirihara, who gave him two thumbs-up. Miyagi and Kirihara began to laugh, probably at something Zaizen said. Oyama turned his head back around, hoping he would have time time to talk to Zaizen later. He wanted his opinion on whether or not getting his tragus pierced would be better than having his cartilage done again. (Urayama said he couldn't get a lip ring so Oyama said he was getting one of his ears done again.)

Tooyama seemed to know where he was going, and if he didn't he wasn't worried. Last year, the three of them had been rather close, but Oyama had forgotten how insistent Tooyama could be about certain things.

Even though Urayama was only a vice-captain during their third year at junior high, everyone knew he was a better doubles player than the captain was a singles player. It was a matter of personality that prevented Urayama from being a leader – Kirihara told him that when he left for high school.

Tooyama saw how strong Urayama was despite his size and appearance and position. Tooyama used to take Oyama and Urayama on two-to-one. The red head always won.

Eventually they found Seigaku warming up for their match against St. Peters. Echizen was sitting under a tree, lazily sipping at a can of ponta. Tooyama finally let go of Urayama's wrist and rushed over, dropping to his knees and sliding along the grass.

"Koshimae!" Tooyama smiled. Urayama and Oyama stood behind Tooyama, staring down at the infamous Echizen Ryoma.

Echizen looked up from his drink, pushing his white cap back with a single finger. He still had the same hair, the same cockiness to him. He was the same as he had been three years ago, if only a little taller.

"Hi," Urayama said, waving. "I'm Urayama. This is Kenta. Well, Oyama, I guess."

"Oyama?" Echizen smirked, and looked at each of the Rikkaidai boys as he asked, "Wanna play?"

"That's unfair. You told me you couldn't play," Tooyama whined.

"I don't play singles," Oyama said. "And neither does Shiita."

Echizen shrugged and took another sip of soda.

Urayama sat down next to Tooyama and grabbed his ankles. The weights were bulky underneath his hands. "You only play strong people, right?"

Echizen just looked at the pink-haired boy. "Tennis isn't fun if people aren't strong."

"Where'd you hear about Kenta and me?"

"Momo-senpai."

"_Echizen!_"

The four first years turned at the sound of Tezuka's voice. The captain walked over, his eyes landing on Oyama and then Urayama. He obviously recognized them from whatever Momoshiro and Kaidoh said about them. After examining them the famous captain turned his gaze to the Seigaku first year.

"We're going to the courts," Tezuka said.

Echizen grabbed his tennis bag and stood up. "Tooyama, we're playing later."

Tooyama's face grew uncharacteristically serious. "Definitely."

Echizen took a sip of his drink, and followed his captain to where the other Seigaku regulars were standing. Tooyama stood up, smiling stupidly at the two Rikkaidai players, who were apparently more famous than they thought. If Seigaku feared them, who else did?

Tooyama ran off the grass and onto the cement path. His knees were stained green from his slide but he didn't seem to care. "Come on. I wanna get good seats."

"Shiita." Oyama held out his hand, hoisting the smaller up to his feet. They followed their old friend, who seemed overjoyed at the thought of playing Echizen.

"What did you mean by Echizen saying he couldn't play?" Oyama asked.

"He hurt his ankle or something in America." Tooyama put his hands behind his head as he walked in long strides. "He isn't supposed to be playing."

"He wears a brace," Urayama realized. Oyama looked at him. "At Semifinals I was looking at his ankles. One looked like a weight, but the other didn't."

"Koshimae told me because he couldn't play me like he promised he would when he came back from America. Tezuka doesn't want him telling people 'cause he's weird like that. I'm not allowed to play Tezuka either..."

"How'd he join the regulars? Don't they have tournaments at Seigaku?" Urayama asked. He remembered Horio telling him about the process last year.

Tooyama shrugged. "I guess he used that phantom thing and sucked the ball in so he didn't have to move. He'd be all _whoosh_, and win." Tooyama made vacuuming noises with his mouth for a few seconds. He tilted his head back and to the side, looking up at Oyama. "Don't tell anyone."

Tooyama set his head straight and rushed to hug a cute girl with braided pigtails holding a box of sweets.

.

Marui and Jackal were making their way to the Seigaku-St. Peters match when they saw the Seigaku regulars gathered together. Jackal took out his headphone, consequently yanking the other one out of Marui's ear. The red head swore and looked to see what had Jackal so interested.

"What do you think?" Jackal asked.

"Even if they win today, they don't stand a chance at Nationals," Marui said. "Without Oishi, Kikumaru is basically useless. He's a good singles player, but couldn't handle anything above singles-three. They pair a good player with him for doubles and use two valuable singles players for the other doubles pair. They have to chose between good singles or good doubles."

"Most of the time they'll go with singles," Jackal reasoned.

Marui nodded. "Yeah, probably. That puts more pressure on singles players. If the doubles are weak, they need to win all three singles matches. If one of them losses and the doubles can't take a match, they're out. It's not like it was three years ago. They have less options and no more wild cards."

"There's always Echizen."

"But we didn't know much about him three years ago. We thought he was a kid. Now, if we saw his name on the line up, we goggle his matches from the pro circut and learn his weaknesses. Seigaku is nothing compared to what they were."

"And we're better than we were three years ago."

Marui smiled at his partner. "Hell yeah we're better. Plus we have Ice-Cream-Head and Ogre in case any of us get sick. Remember when we had to play with strep?"

Jackal laughed. "Yanagi shoved surgical masks on our faces the moment we won."

"Yes, but we did win. Missed nearly a month of school, but we won." Marui pointed up ahead at a mass of yellow. "Come on. Looks like everyone else is already there."

The doubles-one pair met up with the other regulars at the court. St. Peters players gave them pointed glares that ended whenever Oyama, Niou, Kirihara, or Yukimura so much as glanced at them. They stood by the fences, listening to Yanagi's predictions.

"Seigaku will win," Yanagi began.

"Of course they will," Kirihara grumbled. "Is Echizen playing?"

"No," Yanagi answered. "Kaidoh and Sadaharu are doubles-two, Fuji and Kikumaru are doubles-one, Arai is singles-three, Momoshiro is singles-two, and Tezuka is singles-one."

Urayama's eyes drifted to the Seigaku regulars. Echizen was leaning back, lazily sipping at his drink and pulling his cap over his face. Why would he join the team if he couldn't play? It would be torture to be so close to so many matches and not being able to face anyone.

The teams began to enter the courts.

.

Seigaku won all five matches as Yanagi had predicted. Jumonji didn't stand a chance against Momoshiro's strength and Tezuka had Fukuda shaking nearly as bad as Yukimura had. The Rikkaidai regulars left during the final announcements and headed towards the designated meet-up point for lunch. After Yanagi checked off their names, they broke off into groups and meet up with friends.

Kirihara ate with Miyagi and they were joined by Hiyoshi and Zaizen. Urayama and Oyama sat with Tooyama, and were joined by the Seigaku Trio. At some point, Horio called Echizen over and the famed first year brought Momoshiro, who was a little more than confused as to why they were eating with the enemy.

The Rikkaidai Big Three spread out a blanket in the grass and pulled out their lunch. They were in the middle of discussing a book when Yanagi stopped mid sentence. He looked at Yukimura.

"Hello, Koga-chan," Yanagi greeted.

Yukimura turned around, craning his neck to look up. Koga was standing with her hair pushed back with a yellow headband with a yellow shirt and black shorts.

"I tried for the yellow and black, but I don't have that much yellow," she admitted as she ran a hand through the back of her hair.

Yukimura smiled and moved closer to Sanada, making room for her. Twenty feet away from under a tree, Marui and Jackal cat whistled as Niou shouted, "Stop the PDA!" Yagyuu looked at his partner, and said, "Remember when you were trying to get them together?" Niou didn't respond.

Koga looked nervously at her boyfriend's friends. She had never had a real conversation with them. She only came to tennis practices after double-checking if it was okay with Yukimura, which meant she was generally with him. For the longest time, she got the feeling that Sanada didn't like her, until Yukimura explained Sanada was quite himself. She assumed Yanagi was just a little introverted and needed time to warm up to people. However, slowly the Master warmed to her.

"Ah, there's Sadaharu. Excuse me for a moment," Yanagi said. He stood up, and then smiled at Koga. "Thank you for your support."

Koga looked confused as he walked away. It wasn't until Yukimura said, "The yellow," did she understand what he had meant.

Yanagi walked across the grass to a cement path. Inui was walking with Kaidoh, probably discussing the curve variation of his Snake from his match. When Yanagi walked in front of them, Kaidoh said something and then jogged off.

"Were you discussing the curve of his Snake?" Yanagi asked.

Inui pushed up his glasses. "Yes, it's become a bit of a problem."

"Have him practice hitting the shot through tubes."

Inui nodded and pulled a small notebook out of his pocket. "Yes, why didn't I think of that..."

The two talked like old friends as they walked.

.

After finishing his lunch, Sanada stood up and left to refill his bottle of water before they had to warm up for their match. He took his bag with him, thinking he could rally against a wall if he had extra time. He walked along the cement, ignoring the interested looks he got. He was accustomed to scouts and players looking at him. He was the Emperor of Rikkaidai. That title would be with him for the rest of his life, and he was alright with that.

His eyes landed on a set of vending machines and a water fountain up ahead. He continued to walk straight, but had to stop when someone stepped out in front of him.

"Excuse me," Sanada said, stepping to the side. The boy followed, blocking his path. Sanada's face hardened. His knuckles went white around the strap of his tennis bag. "What?"

"I've heard you've gone soft, Sanada." When Sanada didn't respond the boy smiled. "Wanna play?"

Sanada didn't recognize the boy. He must have been a player from another region that was stupid enough to think he could stand amongst Rikkaidai, amongst the gods of the court.

"Move," Sanada ordered.

The boy smirked. "Scared your precious team won't love you anymore if you lose? Wait. They don't care about you now, do they? That's why you're emo, right?"

"_You _–"

"Oh, Sanada, don't lose your temper," a voice said.

Sanada recognized who it was immediately, and was not happy that _he _of all people was coming to his rescue.

The vice-captain looked over his shoulder, glaring at Atobe as he walked up, moving his hair out of his face with a delicate wave of his hand. Kabaji walked behind him, holding both of their tennis bags. Some things never changed.

Atobe slipped his hands into his pockets and stopped next to Sanada. He looked at the boy, and smiled the way Yukimura and Niou did when they were mad and were about to do something about it.

"So you think you're stronger than the Emperor?" Atobe asked. "Perhaps I'd be strong enough for you. It is common knowledge that I'm a better player than Sanada here."

"In your dreams, Atobe," Sanada hissed.

Atobe took a step forward; the boy mirrored his movement with a step back. The heir lost his smile, his face hard and eyes frigid like ice. "Or perhaps you could defeat Sanada, and then play me. Certainly it wouldn't take much to defeat someone as weak as Sanada."

"Maybe later," the boy sneered. He turned and walked away rather quickly.

Atobe smirked when the boy rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. He turned to Sanada with a thoughtful look.

"You know, Sanada, fools will always exist no matter what you do. Of course, I have tried my best to rid this world of imbeciles, but there is only so much I can do in the fight against ignorant peasants."

"You didn't need to help. I could have taken care of an idiot like him."

Sanada stepped to the side and walked around Atobe. The heir turned, watching the Emperor walk towards the vending machines.

"I was lying," Atobe announced. "You are strong. Although, I'm still the better player."

Sanada clutched his tennis bag tighter, and kept walking. He knew what Atobe meant – that he wasn't weak for feeling, for being depressed, that he was strong for admitting it and seeking help within his friends. People thought he was weak for feeling, for being human.

He'd show them just how strong an emperor was.

.

The lineup for the Fudomine match was Rikkaidai's standard positions. Niou-Yagyuu as doubles-two, Marui-Jackal as doubles-one, Kirihara as singles-three, Sanada as singles-two, and Yukimura as singles-one.

Fudomine's line up was also pretty standard with Uchimura- Mori as doubles-two, Ishida-Sakurai as doubles-one, Ibu as singles-three, Kamio as singles-two, and Tachibana as singles-one.

Yukimura and Koga walked hand-in-hand to the court where the match would be held and came to a stop near the regulars' seating. Koga let go of his hand, reaching up and using it to brush a loose strand of hair behind Yukimura's ear.

"I think that's a first," she said. "You have the crazy hair, not me."

He smiled softly. "I suppose it is."

To his surprise, Koga pushed up on her toes and planted a quick peck to his cheek. Her ears were flaming red when she came back down, a soft "good luck" falling from her lips.

Yukimura remembered when the girl didn't even want to hold hands in public. It was just who she was. She wasn't the type of person who enjoyed attention. Kissing the captain of a National-level team in front of a few hundred people was... It meant the world to him that she would do that.

"Thank you." He smiled at her, and received a brilliant smile in return.

Koga let go of his hand and walked away, smiling over her shoulder at him. He smiled, and then joined the rest of his team. She turned back around, wondering where she was going to sit. Despite the massive number of Rikkaidai student present, it took her a while to spot a familiar face amongst the crowd.

She walked over, and asked, "Can I sit with you?"

Miyagi looked up from his phone. "Koga. Hey. Yeah."

She sat down, realizing she never really talked to Miyagi. She talked to Tanaka from time to time as well as Kirihara at tennis practices so she knew of him, but she never took the time to have a conversation with him.

"Sorry, I didn't really know where else to sit," Koga admitted. She looked at the stands on the other side of the court. A wave of pink and black decorated the seats. "And I don't think I'd fit in over there while wearing yellow."

"It's cool. The more the merrier."

"Is Tanaka coming?"

"Nah. She came last week. Sorry, but you're stuck with me."

"I didn't mean – sorry. I guess things are still shaky between you and Tanaka?" Koga said. Miyagi shrugged. She brushed her hair behind her ear. "Tanaka and I aren't very close, but she says she misses hanging out with you. Shit, I probably shouldn't have said that."

"Isn't that your boyfriend?" Miyagi asked, changing the subject. He nodded to Yukimura, who was giving his regulars a speech. It must have been the most interesting thing ever because the regulars seemed captivated. He looked at Koga. "Well, is it?"

Koga's ears went red. "Yeah..."

"Does he like dinosaurs?"

"I don't know. Maybe?"

"I can see him as a secret T-rex lover. I approve."

Koga smiled. She settled her eyes on Yukimura as he led his team onto the court to shake hands with Fudomine. She had gotten to know the regulars, some more than others, but had never had the chance to see them play against anyone but their teammates.

"Kirihara looks distracted," Koga mentioned without thinking.

"His ex goes to Fudomine. Her best friend is on that team and kinda hates his guts. Even though she broke up with him, it wasn't a clean break up. They just stopped talking. So he's probably having a staring contest with her best friend right now. Ten bucks on Akaya. His death glare could make anyone pee their pants."

Koga was going to reply, but her phone buzzed. She reached into her pocket, and pulled it out, smiling when she read Emiko's text message – _tell me when my brother wins_. Emiko held her brother up so high. Koga realized that she did the same thing. To both of them, Yukimura Seiichi was perfect.

.

When the matches began, Koga felt a wave of something crash over her. A wave of yellow was cheering on the team. The goofy boys she watched from the hill changed into fearless champions.

She could follow tennis, but she couldn't follow _their_ tennis. She watched the shots and followed the calls, yet she couldn't tell what she was watching. It was more than tennis to them, and she could see that by the way they played. It was like tennis was part of them, not just a sport.

Rikkaidai had already won four matches when Yukimura stepped onto the court. Koga didn't know what to expect. She had never seen him play a practice match let alone a competitive match. He was a kind, gentle, charismatic leader who took his team to Nationals year after year. She never thought of him as a tennis player who led those chaotic boys.

His opponent, Tachibana, looked like he could be a leader, a champion. He had short blonde hair and a stern face. He looked so intense compared to Yukimura. He looked like someone who took a team to Nationals and led them to victory.

When Yukimura turned away from the handshake to take his place to serve, Koga saw the same intense look Tachibana had in Yukimura's blue eyes. No, it was stronger. She realized in that moment what those boys saw in Yukimura.

She didn't even see the serve. Half the shots she couldn't see. The referee wasn't even sure what was going on half the time. It was above her ability to comprehend.

The match ended six-three, Yukimura the victor. Koga wondered if what they said about Yukimura was true, if he really was the tennis prodigy. If he played like that against someone who could match his skill to the slight degree, how did he compare to normal people? To the best?

As she clapped with everyone else, she realized he was the best and she wasn't. Compared to him, she was nothing. It was a depressing thought, one she couldn't get out of her head.

.

Miyagi and Koga made their way down to the regulars after the ending announcements. Kirihara practically tackled Miyagi to the ground, making plans to meet him later after celebrating with the team. Koga smiled to the regulars as she walked down to the railing. Yukimura was packing his things on the bench.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said.

They smiled.

"Congratulations. You're match was..."

Why did she have to trail off like something was horribly wrong, Yukimura wondered. He put his bag over his shoulder and looked up at her. "I'd like to talk, but we have a tradition of going to Sweet Treats after our victories."

"We could meet tomorrow since there's no school," Koga suggested. She wished she hadn't worn a headband because she so desperately wanted something to keep her hands occupied. "Ten at Sweet Treats?"

Yukimura nodded. "Sure. I can walk you to the train station if you want."

She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I know where I'm going."

Yukimura nodded, and once they said their good-byes, Koga went on her way. Yukimura stood there for awhile and watched her as she left. Something was wrong. She was shy and anxious, but it was like she wanted to get rid of him. This was the reason why he didn't want to let her see him play.

"Buchou, come on!" Marui shouted. "Buses leave soon."

Yukimura climbed up over the railing to join his team. With a warm smile, he said, "Let's go."

.

The following day, Yukimura headed off to Sweet Treats to meet up with Koga. She was sitting outside under an umbrella, poking at a cup of frozen yogurt with a plastic spoon. Her hair was pulled back and every lose strand was contained with pins or her hair band. She kicked her legs restlessly back and forth underneath the table. He slid into the seat next to her and she jumped.

"I didn't see you," she admitted. She took in a deep breath through her nose and then laughed. "Sorry. I keep zoning out."

"It's alright." He looked at her frozen yogurt. "Strawberries?"

"Not the yucky artificial flavor." She stuck the spoon into it and slid it in front of him. "You can have the rest."

"No thanks."

Koga went to run a hand through her hair, but seemed to remember she had it pulled back when her hand was in front of her face. She scratched at her nose to cover up for her mistake. Her eyes drifted to her smiling boyfriend.

"I'm_ really_ zoned out today," she laughed.

"Is everything alright?"

She nodded as she lowered her hand. "Yeah. So what do you want to talk about?"

"It's not that I wanted to talk to you about anything in particular," Yukimura said. "I just wanted to make sure that everything is alright between us."

"Why wouldn't it be? Because I watched you play tennis?" Yukimura didn't move his eyes away from hers, but he didn't respond either. Koga sighed, eyes lowering to Yukimura's nose. "It's just tennis to me. I know it isn't to you, but that's all it is to me."

"I can tell you have something else to say."

She sighed. "It's a little weird, okay? I guess I never really made the connection between you being captain of the team and your skills."

Yukimura remained silent.

"It was strange seeing you so intense, but I'm not scared or angry or any dumb shit like that. It's just intimidating to know you're this great player who can do practically anything. When I think about it, about us, I just feel... I don't know. I can't really describe it. I'm intimidated by you."

"You are afraid of me."

"Of course not!" It wasn't loud enough to draw any attention, but it was louder then her usual volume. She seemed to notice how loud she was and sunk a bit in her seat. "Shit, did I make it seem like I was? I didn't mean to. Damn it." She looked horribly embarrassed after she swore. "I really need to stop swearing."

Yukimura smiled softly. "It's cute."

"It's crude."

"Crute?" Koga tilted her head slightly, smiling at him like he was insane and she was trying not to laugh out of embarrassment. Yukimura added, "Chou is crute. Alliteration is always a good thing."

Koga stopped smiling. She blinked at him several times, and then said, "You just called me Chou."

"Yes, I did..."

"You can call me that. I could call you Seiichi. That sounded really weird." Her ears turned red. She reached up to brush her hair, but ended up covering her eyes with her hand. The blush spread to her cheeks. "Why am I so lame?"

"You're not lame, and you have no reason to be intimidated by me. I'm just... me. You know that. And I like us."

He reached over, gently wrapping his fingers around her wrist. He pulled her hand away from her eyes and lowered their hands to the table. Their hands awkwardly clasped together. His skin was tan from hours under the sun and contrasted against her fair skin.

"So you don't care about how I play tennis?" Yukimura asked.

She looked at him wishing she had her hair to hide her face behind. "It's fine. You don't act like that around me. I trust you not to do anything that could hurt me."

"You're too kind."

And she was too kind. She was kind to people who didn't deserve kindness. She was kind to Yukimura, who only ever pushed people away because of irrational fears of death and loss. She smiled and loved him even though he could hardly give her any of that love in return. She made him want to be a better person.

Yukimura slid his hand away from hers with a small smile. "I know you don't like PDA."

She muttered something. When Yukimura furrowed his brows together, she sighed and repeated herself. "Holding hands is fine. Just – hang on." She reached below the table and ran her hand over her holey jeans. He laughed, and she looked at him. "Don't be mean. I can't help that my hands get all gross."

When she put her hand back on the table, he grabbed it.

"It's alright, Chou."

"You're going to call me that all the time, aren't you?"

"Only because I know you'll call me Seiichi."

"Seiichi."

"Chou."

The two smiled at each other.

* * *

**A/N: ****I've screwed every character's personality. I am aware of that. Do not hate.**

**You have no idea how long I've been planning on writing "YAMA BUDDIES!" **_**No. Freaking.** **Clue.**_

**I know it was a long chapter, but I just wanted to finish the Kanto Regional arc, and since I wasn't showing any matches I crammed it all in as well as a Yukimura-Koga moment because I love them (even if Yukimura is the worst character to write in existence).**

**Fun Fact: I wanted Oyama to have a lip ring, but Temari talked me out if it.**


	69. Chapter 69

**Chapter 69.**

When Suzuki tossed a pebble against Marui's window to wake him up, she was sprayed with water. She wiped off her face, glaring up at Marui, who was leaning out his window and holding a super soaker. Suzuki groaned – today was the first day back after the tournament, which meant the tennis club was having a Squirt Gun War. And she was in the crossfire.

She went inside, spotting Haruto and Hikaru coming down the stairs. They were running and looked like they had just rolled out of bed. Haruto was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt while Hikaru was only wearing Pokémon boxers. They had some major bed head.

"Bunta!" Hikaru shouted. "Stop it!"

Marui came down after his brothers, one small water gun in each hand.

Hikaru and Haruto froze when they reached the bottom of the stairs. Suzuki was standing there, looking quite amused.

"Nice boxers," Suzuki commented. She knew she shouldn't tease Hikaru but she couldn't help it.

Hikaru turned red and rushed back upstairs, shoving Marui into the wall in the process. Haruto laughed and followed his twin brother. Their bedroom door slammed shut, and Marui came down the stairs laughing like a maniac.

"That was priceless!" Marui laughed. It was a little cruel, though. Hikaru had the biggest crush on Suzuki for the longest time, and Marui wondered if he still did sometimes. Then Marui remembered Hikaru was going to the movies an awful lot and refused to let anyone touch his phone. Plus there was that one time Marui overheard him in the shower singing a love song. Maybe Hikaru finally got that soccer girl to like him.

"You ready?" Suzuki asked.

Marui nodded. "Yeah, just let me go get my bag."

Marui left the house with a duffle bag full of squirt guns and empty balloons; Hikaru and Haruto were locked up in their room when Suzuki shouted goodbye. They stopped by the Corner Market so Suzuki could grab a pint of peach juice (Marui got her to buy him a pack of new gum), and then headed off to school. Marui ran off to the locker room to put his guns away while Suzuki entered the lobby to change her shoes.

Ito was standing by her locker holding her shoes for her. They had probably been put up to a cubby she couldn't have reached. She grabbed them from him with a "thanks" that made him smile.

"Where's the red head?" Ito asked as he leaned against the cubbies.

"Putting his guns in the locker room."

"_Guns?_"

"Yes, Ito, guns. We're shooting the soccer team today. Want to join?"

"I know you're kidding, but it's still freaking me out because of how serious you are."

Suzuki smiled. "_Water_ _guns_. The tennis team has this huge squirt gun battle after they win tournaments. Bunta gets way too into it."

When Ito didn't respond, Suzuki looked up at him. He had a look on his face that reminded her of Niou. She poked the captain's shoulder a few times to get his attention.

"What's on your mind, ogre?"

"There's a bunch of empty balloons in our locker room that we keep for celebrations," Ito mentioned. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

She smirked like the devil. "Operation KSA under way."

"KSA?"

"Kick Some Ass. Or Koala Storm Alpha. I prefer Koala Storm."

Ito laughed and Suzuki smiled.

.

Suzuki spent the majority of the day doodling sketches and war maps in her notes. She sent pictures to Ito, Bando, Etsuko, and the other starters from the baseball and softball teams. By the time lunch started, they had made a plan and were discussing the finer points amongst their ambush groups. Suzuki was part of team Lego with Ito. Etsuko was leading team Gorilla and Bando was leading team Wave. The tennis team wouldn't know what hit them.

"Do you have practice?" Marui asked. "Maybe you could do the math homework and I could compare my nonexistent answers to it."

"No can do, Bunta. Last minute practice."

Marui pulled his lunch out of his bag. His dad had woken up earlier than usual and had made lunches for him and his brothers. When Marui saw a brown paper bag with his name in the fridge, he knew it wasn't going to be a fun experience. When he pulled out an apple he knew he had been right.

"Here, Niou," Marui said as he tossed the apple to Niou. "I don't like my brothers' apples."

Marui pulled out a container of leftovers, trying to hide his smile. Suzuki was doing the same.

Niou took a bite of the mushy apple and made a sound that could only be described as a mixture of panic, disgust, and yuck. He spit out the bite of mushy apple into a napkin, and chucked the apple at Marui's head. The Trickster wiped his tongue with another napkin.

Marui rubbed his head. "Ow!"

"Your fault for trying to pull one on me."

"I did not _try_, I _succeeded_."

Niou glared at him. "You're going down this afternoon."

Marui smiled. "Jackal and I have a plan this time. We're going to win."

"That's what you think," Suzuki muttered to herself. Neither of the boys heard her.

.

Marui sprinted out of the classroom when the final bell rang. Suzuki looked at Niou, who just smirked. They grabbed their bags and walked out into the hall. A few seconds later, Marui and Jackal's voices floated through the halls as they chanted, "Squirt Gun War! Squirt Gun War!"

"Did you ever consider putting him in an insane asylum?" Niou asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Once, but I figured they'd try to put me in too."

"Two birds, one stone."

She rolled her eyes at him and began walking in a different direction. Out of curiosity and habit, Niou watched her out of the corner of his eye. She met Etsuko and Bando, who were both smiling and talking. Niou wasn't the best at reading lips, but he got one word – ambush.

Niou stopped in front of his cubby to change his shoes. That could work to his advantage.

When he turned to head outside, he spotted Urayama, Oyama, and several first years he didn't know or care about huddled around by Oyama's cubby. Niou walked over to see what the big deal was and spotted the latest issue of Pro Tennis Monthly in Urayama's hands.

Niou reached into the crowd, which caused several of the first years to move back a step. He took the magazine from Urayama's hands, his blue eyes scanning the article they were so interested in. Oyama stopped changing his shoes, turned to see who took Urayama's magazine, and then went back to changing his shoes. Just Niou-senpai. But when was Niou-senpai a good thing?

"'Rough Rikkaidai,'" Niou read out loud. He skimmed the article, glanced briefly at the pictures, and then returned the magazine to Urayama. The article talked about how the "gods of the courts" had gone violent and featured several pictures of Oyama, Kirihara, and Yukimura. The quotes taken from the referee were particularly harsh.

"Does Yukimura-buchou know?" Urayama asked Niou.

"Probably doesn't care. The only time he cared what anyone at the magazine wrote was when we stopped being the 'kings of the courts.'"

"That's Hyotei," one of Urayama's friends said. Niou studied him, much to the first year's horror, and then nodded slowly.

"We're the gods of the courts now," another added.

Oyama had finally finished putting on his shoes and turned to face Niou. "Do you need something, Senpai? We have practice."

Niou really hated how that kid was so damn calm. It was unnevering, but in a fun way.

"Let me guess: Akaya has some last minute instructions." Oyama's face remained blank, but Urayama shifted. Niou smirked. Bingo. He stepped forward and turned so he was facing the same direction as the Circus Pair. He put an arm around Urayama's shoulder and patted Oyama's back. "We have some things to discuss."

Niou began to walk the two out, and realized the other first years hand't followed. Niou looked over his shoulder and they came running along.

.

Urayama, Oyama, and the other first years walked into the locker room two minutes before Niou to make sure no one knew what they were up to. Oyama wasn't too thrilled about having to participate in another Squirt Gun War, but Urayama liked Niou's plan. Being a double agent just sounded fun.

The two first years walked to their lockers and realized there were no locks. They looked at their locker-neighbors, who had also heard Niou's plan, and they seemed clueless. The two looked at the back of the room where they saw Kirihara waving them over, probably a few seconds away from obnoxiously shouting their names. They walked back and spotted their names above two lockers next to Kirihara's.

"Congrats, you're official," Kirihara said. "I moved all your stuff this morning when I came to drop off my super soaker."

The two opened their lockers and saw their stuffed crammed into the bottom. Their tennis bags were hung on hooks. They were just like their old lockers only a little wider and they had less dents.

"Miho never mentioned you were in drama, Urayama." Oyama undid his tie and began to unbuttoned his shirt. Urayama looked at Kirihara with a confused expression. Kirihara continued, "The make-up. Drama kids wear it, right? Miho has a ton of it to keep her face from shining on stage."

A wave of panic crossed Urayama's face before he smiled. "Oh, no, I'm not in drama. My mom puts her purse on a table near my bag and sometimes she forgets to close it so stuff falls in. I found her keys last year. It probably fell into my bag and then into my locker."

Kirihara nodded even though he had the feeling that wasn't the whole truth. He had found the container stuffed into the corner hidden behind containers of balls. There hadn't been any dust on it and for it to fall there... Urayama was lying.

"Right, well, whatever." He began again, softer, "You know the plan?"

"Yup!" Urayama replied. Kirihara shushed him. Urayama continued quietly, "Our first year friends, Kenta, and I will hook up the hose at the fountains, the safe point, and blast anyone before they can touch it. We'll also make balloons."

Kirihara nodded and pretended to wip a tear away from his eye. "So proud."

Urayama smiled and began to change. Oyama opened a pack of pixie sticks and handed one to Urayama and Kirihara.

"Good idea, we'll need it to face whatever Niou-senpai is planning," Kirihara said.

The second year turned back to his locker, holding the pixie stick between his teeth. Urayama and Oyama shared a look. Kirihara had no idea what Niou-senpai was planning.

.

Sanada and Yanagi were on the referee stands at the request of a few second and third years. They wanted to play a few games for fun and seeing as how it got them out of the Squirt Gun War, Sanada and Yanagi agreed to referee. Meanwhile, Yukimura sat next to Koga on the hill, the two whispering softly and laughing. Koga was holding a camera, taking candid shots of Yukimura and the other members.

Marui and Jackal had lined up everyone openly participating in the Squirt Gun War and given them a gun (after taking the biggest and the baddest for themselves). Just because someone wasn't lined up didn't mean they weren't in the battle. If you had a gun at the start of practice, you could play; taking a weapon from someone who was eliminated was illegal.

A few from every year were lined up, Niou and Yagyuu at the back while Urayama, Oyama, a few other first years, and Kirihara were at the front. One of the first years was wearing a black back pack.

Marui stepped forward, his super soaker in front of him and two containers of water in his pockets.

"You will fight!" Marui shouted.

"Yes, sir!"

"You will squirt!"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you will soak!"

"Yes, sir!"

Marui looked at Jackal, who took a step forward and said, "The fountains are a safety zone. You may stay as long as it takes to refill your weapon. If you stay for too long, we're allowed to soak you. Only one man will survive the battle so chose allies you aren't afraid to crush, backstab, and humiliate in the end. This is war."

"Yes, sir!"

"Squirt Gun War has begun!" Marui and Jackal shouted, pointing their guns at the boys. "GO!"

Yukimura and Koga clapped on the hill, laughing at the idiocy of the whole thing. Niou and Yagyuu took off, disappearing behind the bleachers. Second and third years took off, spraying down people without hesitation. Kirihara sent a desperate look at the first years, and then followed a group of third years, gun at the ready.

The boy with the back pack headed to the fountain, the others acting as guards. He pulled out a hose and screwed screwed the twenty foot foot garden hose onto the tab at the edge of the fountains, the one for hoses, and turned the knob as high as it went. When water came out of the end, the boy picked up the hose and placed his thumb over the end.

"Kirihara-senpai is a mad genius," the boy said.

"Then Niou-senpai's one lab accident away from becoming an evil mastermind," another said. "Keep your eyes peeled!"

Urayama smiled and shot down a second year that came near. The battle had only just begun.

.

Marui and Jackal ran around, shooting anyone or anything that moved, including several squirrels. Yukimura and Koga took pictures and made commentary, trying to hold in their laughter when Sanada and Yanagi joined them on the hill, both thoroughly soaked from a barrage of water balloons curtesy of Niou and Yagyuu.

"No one has broken the first year wall," Yukimura said once they sat down.

Sanada pulled his shirt away from his chest and rung out as much water as he could. He grunted.

"The only chance Akaya, Marui, Jackal, Niou, and Yagyuu have at winning is if they team up to take down the first years," Yanagi said.

"Where _is_ Akaya?" Yukimura asked.

Koga furrowed her brow and scanned the court. She spotted him and pointed. "There, by the fountains. He's refilling his water."

"Genius. He teamed up with the first years," Yanagi noted. "They're all too inexperienced to face him once the others are taken down. Akaya is a veteran. He's played in Squirt Gun War: Ice Water Buckets, Squirt Gun War: Salt Water Balloons, and Squirt Gun War: Ducks. He won Squirt Gun War: Ducks. That is the only time he ever won."

"That's impressive," Koga admitted. "And I don't mean Kirihara participating in those. I mean that you all take this so seriously that you name them."

"Only the best battles get names," Yukimura said with a smile. "You come to love Squirt Gun War and all the little quirks it has."

"I hate Squirt Gun War," Sanada muttered as he took off his hat and shook his wet hair like a dog.

.

Suzuki and Ito may have taken their roles as leaders of team Lego a bit to far. They used eyeblacks to paint the same tribal-like faces they had for the Prefectural Tournament. As planned, they filled the water balloons and distributed them amongst the three teams. They would strike hard and fast.

Team Lego would come in from over the hill and let balloons rain down. Team Wave, led by Bando, would go to the roof and toss balloons down. Team Gorilla, led by Etsuko, would come in from the bleachers. The four leaders – Ito, Suzuki, Etsuko, and Bando – had waterproof walkie talkies.

Ito and Suzuki were squatted on the other side of the hill. Ito spoke into the walkie talkie while smiling at Suzuki: "Wave, do you copy? Over."

"Copy. Over."

"Good. Go in thirty seconds. Over."

"Roger. Over and out."

Suzuki couldn't help but smile alongside Ito. He handed her the walkie talkie to contact Etsuko.

"Gorilla, launch in twenty seconds. Koala Storm Alpha is going. Over."

"Gotcha. Over and out."

Suzuki pocketed the walkie talkie. Ten seconds.

She had an open duffle bag at her side full of water balloons. Nine seconds.

"This is going to rock," Ito said. Eight seconds.

Suzuki looked over her shoulder at the four others with them. Seven seconds.

"You know what hurts more than giving birth and getting kicked in the balls?" she asked. Six seconds.

"What?" one of them replied. Five seconds.

"Stepping on a lego," she answered. Four seconds.

Ito and Suzuki stood. Three seconds.

"Screw it!" Suzuki shouted. "CHARGE!"

Suzuki and Ito ran forward, storming over the hill. Bando and his team began dropping dozens of balloons on the first years near the fountains, taking out all almost of them within a matter of seconds. Suzuki and Ito ran over the hill and past Yanagai, Sanada, Yukimura, and Koga. Yukimura had grabbed onto Koga, blinking as six people ran past tossing water balloons left and right. Sanada repeated what he had said earlier, "I hate Squirt Gun War."

Marui and Jackal were standing in the middle of the courts scanning the area.

"Sorry, Bunta!" Suzuki shouted as she tossed a balloon at his chest.

Ito threw one at Jackal, laughing as they continued on, fanning out in search of their prey.

Marui looked at Jacka and slowly said, "What. The. Hell."

"Nice articulation."

"Thank you. I appreciate a nice verbal statement from time to time."

.

Etsuko and the rest of team Gorilla never made it past the bleachers. They walked straight in Niou and Yagyuu's base, and were met with a watery defeat. Bando and the others from the roof came down, only to fall in defeat at the hands of Urayama and Oyama, who had managed to avoid the water balloons.

But victory was short lived for the tennis boys. Team Lego took revenge for team Wave, but fell while taking down Oyama. Oyama joined the other first years Kirihara had recruited, sitting with them in the grass. Urayama managed to escape by running and hiding in the mass of trees near the bleachers; he took out Yagyuu.

"They get way too into this," one of the first year boys said. Oyama nodded as he pulled a piece of rubber out of his mouth.

Suzuki and Ito sat with Bando, Etsuko, and the other starters on the courts. Marui and Jackal walked over, both soaked and pissed.

"Don't fight in battles that don't concern you," Marui said.

"You're just mad you didn't think to use us before to beat Niou," Suzuki replied.

Marui narrowed his eyes. "I hate you."

"I'm sure you do, Bunta." Suzuki rolled her eyes. "I'll see you for dinner."

"Oh, right, your family's coming over. Hikaru won't be happy to see you after this morning."

Jackal sighed. Marui was a real peace of work. Once Marui and Suzuki stopped talking, the two walked over to the hill to join Yukimura and the others. When they sat down at the bottom, Marui realized Jackal was smiling. He was thinking that Marui Bunta was the only person in the world who could go from war-mode to remember-when-you-saw-my-step-brother-in-his-boxers within two seconds. But Marui didn't need to know that so when Marui asked why he was smiling, Jackal said it was nothing.

.

Eventually, when everyone but a few had been defeated, the remaining players stepped into the open. Urayama, armed with a few water balloons. Niou, armed with at least one visible super soaker. Kirihara, also armed with a super soaker. The three stood in a triangle several feet apart.

"You got the first years," Niou said, smirking at Kirihara.

"Yeah, I did." Kirihara looked at Urayama like he was expecting him to walk over to his side.

"What's this, Akaya? Your secret buddy isn't coming over?" Niou questioned. He was looking at Urayama. "Is it possible someone else offered them an opportunity?"

"Damn it, Niou-senpai, you took my allies! That's cheating!"

"No, it's strategy."

"Cheating!"

Before either of them could say another word, they were both hit with water balloons. They turned and saw Urayama smiling.

"I don't like being told what to do," Urayama said. "Unless it's on the court by Kenta. Sorry, Senpai."

At that moment, Yukimura stood up from the hill, began clapping, and walked over to where Urayama was standing. He slipped one hand into his shorts and put the other on Urayama's shoulder. Yukimura removed his hand from his pocket.

Niou stared at his captain.

"Urayama!" Kirihara shouted. "Watch out!"

Urayama looked confused. Then, Yukimura pointed a small water pistol at the first year's chest and pulled the trigger.

"That's cheating!" Kirihara shouted. "You didn't have a gun at the start of practice!"

"I did. I just didn't reveal it. Chou has a picture of me with it as proof," Yukimura stated as he pocketed the gun. He patted Urayama's shoulder. "Sorry, Urayama-kun, but I've had that planned for a week. I would have done it regardless of who won."

Urayama looked confused. "'kay?"

Yukimura smiled. "Welcome to the team."

Urayama nodded and walked away, sitting with the other first years in the grass. He felt like he just had a rug pulled out from underneath him.

Yukimura looked back at the hill. Sanada, Yanagi, Marui, and Jackal were looking at Koga, who had bent her legs to her chest and rested her head on them in a fit of laughter. She had been the one to jokingly suggest a hidden water gun. She was laughing so hard because she didn't think he would go through with it, but he had. And he had won.

"That makes four victories for me," Yukimura said. "I believe I'm beating you now, Niou."

Niou pulled a piece of broken balloon off of his shirt. He sneered. "Next time, Buchou."

.

Yukimura stayed on the hill as people went around and cleaned up the damage from the Squirt Gun War. Koga was going through the pictures she had taken on her camera with Yukimura.

"You're going to miss this, aren't you?" she asked as she reached the final picture. Everyone who had played in the war was huddled together on the bleachers, including the baseball and softball teams, soaking wet. That was when she understood how tennis could be something more than tennis. Tennis had created a family.

"It's not over yet," Yukimura reminded her. "There's still a month until Nationals. There's usually a get-together of teams to announce the next captains and vice-captains and there'll probably be a group trip before Renji leaves for Italy."

"It's sad." She rested her head against his shoulder, going through the pictures a second time. "I'm not even part of it and it's sad."

"It's not over yet," he repeated. "Maybe it will never end."

"All things have to end at some point."

"Not necessarily."

Between them, their hands laced. Koga smiled as she showed him a picture of the first years at the fountain. Urayama and Oyama were squirting a few third years while their friend pointed the hose at a second year.

It wasn't over as long as someone was there to take their place.

* * *

**A/N: -insert inappropriate joke about chapter number here-**


	70. Chapter 70

**Chapter 70.**

For the first time in a long time, Kirihara was excited about something that wasn't tennis.

He hopped on a train to go meet Hiyoshi and Zaizen at three in the afternoon. He brought his tennis bag in case Hiyoshi decided to break the no-tennis rule he had set up. He also had a gym bag, which had sweatpants and a few video games. Hiyoshi was not the video game type, but Zaizen and Kirihara came up with a plan to ensure they could fight to the death over video games meant for children; Kirihara brought the games, Zaizen brought the systems.

He shoved a pair of headphones into his ears in some attempt to get that annoying song Marui had been singing out of his head. He didn't know how many times he had thought the lyrics to "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" since he woke up. He had even started singing it in the shower, which was just plain wrong. Kirihara Akaya did not sing Disney songs. That was Miyagi's job.

When the train came to a stop, he slipped his headphones into his pocket and exited the compartment. Even though Hiyoshi attended Hyotei, he wasn't rich like Atobe or Niou. At least, Kirihara didn't think he was. Hiyoshi lived above a family dojo like Sanada did and despite Hiyoshi's modesty, the business was very successful. Kirihara learned first hand how successful it was when Hiyoshi taught him proper meditation techniques a few years ago.

Kirihara headed to the Hiyoshi dojo and walked around back into the fenced-in garden. There was a front entrance, but Kirihara didn't want to walk into the dojo. Instead he rang the doorbell at the back door.

"Coming!" Kirihara heard Hiyoshi shout.

The door opened revealing Hiyosh and the furry dog behind him. Hiyoshi turned to stop the dog, but it was too late. His dog rushed out the door towards Kirihara. The dog was a male bearded collie named Teddy that Hiyoshi got two years ago from a shelter.

Kirihara knelt down, scratching Teddy behind the ear. "Hey, boy, how you been?"

Hiyoshi sighed and knelt down. He scooped Teddy up into his arms, opened the door with his foot, and walked inside. There was a small room with shoes and key bowls, a sliding door to the dojo, and a set of stairs to the living space upstairs. Once Kirihara was inside and the door was closed, Hiyoshi set the dog down.

"He wants to go out, but it's supposed to rain so we're keeping him in," Hiyoshi explained. He reached down, ruffling Teddy's fur. Kirihara smiled; Hiyoshi had a soft spot for dogs.

"Zaizen's upstairs," Hiyoshi said, heading up the stairs. Teddy ran past him, sitting at the top and wagging its tail. "He's turned my bedroom into a fire hazard."

"I brought wii, gamecube, N64, NES, and xbox games," Kirihara said. "We're going to be up all night."

Hiyoshi nearly groaned at the thought. They walked through a very traditional living space, past the kitchen where Hiyoshi's mother was cooking something that made Kirihara drool, and down the hall. Hiyoshi slid a door open, Teddy running in before Kirihra entered.

Hiyoshi's room was a little more western than the rest of his house. He had a bed pushed into a corner, a small desk, and a television on top of his dresser. The floor and walls were still old fashioned. There was a sword here or there, which still scared Kirihara a bit because swords were Sanada's thing, not Hiyoshi's, and Kirihara wasn't sure whether Hiyoshi could kill him with it or not.

Zaizen was setting up the game systems on Hiyoshi's dresser and the floor around. Without thinking, he lifted a fist, which Kirihara bumped as he walked by to sit on the floor by Hiyoshi's bed.

"We have to be quiet," Hiyoshi said as he sat on his bed and took a book off the pillow. "My brother's sick and needs to rest."

Kirihara nodded and began unloading the games from his gym bag. He had all the classics, from shooting to fighting to Mario. It was generally Kirihara and Zaizen who played the games while Hiyoshi read. The few times they got Hiyoshi to play were funny beyond description. The Hyotei boy was worse than Sanada and Yanagi at video games.

Zaizen turned around, randomly grabbed one of the games Kirihara had dumped onto the floor, and turned back to the mass of game systems and wires.

Teddy curled up by Kirihara's side and looked at him with big eyes. Kirihara ran his hand over the dog's head. "Sorry, Ted, you can't go out. Mud in your fur would be like gum in my hair. I doubt you want peanut butter all over you."

Teddy barked. Kirihara smiled.

"How can a guy like you raise such a nice dog?" Kirihara asked.

"Are you insulting me in some way?" Hiyoshi asked blankly as he lied down, turning to the page with a folded corner.

"No. It's just you're you and Teddy's Teddy."

"You're making no sense."

"I never make sense."

"I confirm that statement," Zaizen said. He crawled over to sit on the other side of Teddy. He tossed a wii remote to Kirihara and said, "Mario Kart."

Kirihara grinned. "Rainbow Road on one-fifty CC and mirror mode. It's not worth playing otherwise."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Zaizen muttered. Kirihara rolled his eyes.

.

An hour after they started playing games Hiyoshi's mother called them into the dining room. They sat on the floor around the table. Teddy was in the kitchen until the table had been cleared because he always tried to eat the meat. Hiyoshi's older brother stayed in his room; his mother brought him a tray with a little of everything because apparently he was contagious.

"Wakashi tells me you both made it to Nationals," Hiyoshi's father said. He was an older version of Hiyoshi with shorter hair. He was still wearing his robes from the dojo. He was the picture next to "intimidation" in the dictonary.

"Yes, sir," Kirihara answered.

Hiyoshi's father nodded. "It's good that Wakashi's surrounded himself with strong people."

Hiyoshi put a piece of fish into his mouth. If he felt insulted or embarrassed it didn't show. Kirihara kept forgetting that Hyotei lost during the first round to Seigaku. Hiyoshi had won his match against Kaidoh and Akutagawa beat Momoshiro, but the team just couldn't pull it together. Atobe's loss to Tezuka appeared to be particularly difficult for the team to handle.

Hiyoshi's mother turned the conversation to Zaizen and Kirihara asking them every question known to man. Zaizen, who Kirihara always found to be a bit blunt, was kind and polite, which was enough entertainment for him. Hearing the Shitenhouji boy say "please" and "thank you" was like seeing pigs fly on the backs of whales.

After a little more chit-chat they had cleared the plates. They offered to help clean the dishes, but Hiyoshi's mother insisted. She told them there were homemade fruit pops in the freezer and then told them to go back to Hiyoshi's room. Once they returned to Hiyoshi's room they squeezed two futons into the small room with the help of Hiyoshi's father.

Hiyoshi sat back on his bed and reopened his book. Kirihara sat down on his futon, smiling when Teddy ran into the room. Zaizen sat down next to Kirihara and picked up his remote.

"More video games?" Kirihara asked. "I'm all gamed out."

"Then what do you want to do?" Zaizen asked. Teddy set his head in Zaizen's lap, causing the dark haired boy to sigh. Reluctantly, Zaizen began to scratch the dog's head.

Kirihara shrugged. "I don't know. Prank call?"

Hiyoshi gave him a look. "Not at my house."

"We could use our cell phones."

"No."

Kirihara frowned and scratched Teddy's back. "Ted would let me prank call."

_"No,_" Hiyoshi repeated.

Zaizen looked at Kirihara. "Any other suggestions?"

"I would go with the normal fallback and say Sweet Treats, but that's too far away and none of you know what that is," Kirihara sighed. The confused looks Hiyoshi and Zaizen gave him confirmed his suspicions.

Something buzzed and Teddy sat up, jumping onto Hiyoshi's bed. Zaizen picked up the phone that had been under the dog and raised an eye at the text message preview.

"Why did Tachibana's sister just send you a picture of a monkey on a jet ski?"

Kirihara smiled and took his phone from Zaizen. He opened the picture and laughed. "That totally beats my turtle with a bazooka. We're trying to find the most ridiculous animal pictures."

"That doesn't answer my question," Zaizen pointed out blankly.

"Okay, first of all, she's not 'Tachibana's little sister.' Her name is An. And like I said, we're trying – "

"Why are you talking to her?" Hiyoshi cut in.

"She's helping me train. We get together at a gym and run once a week. Sometimes we place a match at the courts. What's with the third degree? Seriously, what the hell guys."

"She has a boyfriend," Hiyoshi said, avoiding the last part of Akaya's response.

"I could take him in a fight."

"You shouldn't have to take him."

"Listen, we just talk. Momoshiro knows and if he cares then it's news to me."

"I understand the attraction three years ago. I mean, you loved her," Zaizen said. "But I don't understand how you can be friends with someone you screwed around with."

"We did not screw around. Our relationship was serious."

"That's not what I meant."

Kirihara glared at him. "There's a million things wrong with what you just implied. One, I obviously exaggerated. Two, I told you that exaggerated lie in confidence. And three, you've never had a girlfriend so you can shut your face."

"You've had one girlfriend and it's the tomboy who grew up to be incredibly attractive," Zaizen stated. Kirihara hated how matter-of-fact that boy could be. "You still communicate with said girlfriend whom you loved even though she has a boyfriend. Explain to me how that works."

When Zaizen put it like that, it was hard to explain.

"I dated other girls," Kirihara argued.

"Rebound dates," Hiyoshi muttered. "And half of them looked like Tachibana's sister."

"Listen," Kirihara said, sighing, "I'm not trying to get with her. I still like her, but I'm not a jerk so I'm not going to do anything as long as she's dating Momoshiro. Can we stop talking about me and play some video games?"

Zaizen loaded up another round of Brawl as Kirihara grabbed his remote.

.

Zaizen had gone to the bathroom and when he came back he saw Kirihara going through his phone. Zaizen walked over calmly (because there definitely wasn't anything he didn't want Kirihara to see) and took his phone back. Kirihara grinned at him and Zaizen swore mentally.

"You saw it," Zaizen said.

"I posted it on Facebook for you," Kirihara replied. Zaizen swore out loud. Kirihara kept grinning. "I was very impressed with Shiraishi's singing."

Zaizen sat down and went onto Facebook. Kirihara had told the truth. Posted on his wall for all to see was a video of his teammates dancing around him like an idiot and singing a mash up of songs. It had been a particularly bad practice, Zaizen recalled. Even after all these years, those idiots still tried to make him laugh.

"I counted four songs," Hiyoshi said. He waved his phone. "I just commented."

Zaizen looked at his phone, read the comment, and then his face went blank like Oyama's.

"My favorite part was when Shiraishi sang 'I Like It Like That'," Kirihara said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and gave Zaizen a you-deserved-it look. Zaizen decided Kirihara spent too much time around that Niou guy.

"I'm sorry for looking at your phone," Zaizen said half-heartedly. He clicked a few buttons on his phone. "I removed it."

"You removed the one I posted on _your_ wall," Kirihara corrected. "I sent it to my phone then posted it on my wall. I just tagged you."

Teddy walked over and barked in Zaizen's face. Zaizen would bet anything in the world that even the dog was laughing at him.

"Why should I care?" Zaizen asked blankly. "I'm not doing anything embarrassing. My teammates should be the embarrassed ones. Have you seen the videos Shiraishi has on his profile?"

Kirihara and Hiyoshi immediately went to Shiraishi's profile. Zaizen sighed; his friends were nearly as stupid as his teammates.

.

After watching every video posted by Zaizen's teammates, Hiyoshi and Kirihara decided they no longer had any right to complain about their teams. Shitenhouji seemed to dance and goof off more than it practiced. Zaizen had to deal with singing, choreographed dance routines, Shiraishi freezing mid-serve and refusing to move for three minutes, and Tooyama asking if he had earrings because he was a robot. They wondered how the team made it to Nationals and decided there must be some practice behind the hilarious videos.

Zaizen and Kirihara convinced Hiyoshi to play a round of Mario Party 9, which ended with them swearing and fighting. They were the three people in the world who could turn a kids' game into a battle to the death. After Zaizen won – "By one mini star," Kirihara huffed – they argued over what to do. They eventually decided on food because they were teenage boys and if they weren't thinking about girls, tennis, or sleep, they were thinking about food.

Kirihara went to go get the fruit pops from the kitchen and then went down into the dojo. Zaizen followed. Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs.

"We aren't allowed down here," Hiyoshi said.

"Is that a sword?" Kirihara asked. "Awesome!"

Hiyoshi licked his apple popsicle. He didn't taste any alcohol...

"We really shouldn't be down here," Hiyoshi pressed. "My dad would kill me."

"Come on, Hiyoshi, live a little," Kirihara said. He walked across the dojo with Zaizen next to him. Hiyoshi stayed towards the back, looking up through the doorway to the stairs nervously, like someone might walk down any second.

"Guys, seriously. Get back here."

Kirihara turned and gave Hiyoshi a look. "What's going to happen?"

Hiyoshi suddenly ran across the dojo, grabbing and pushing the two to the front entrance. Kirihara laughed, "That's the spirit!"

"Someone's coming. Outside. _Now_."

Hiyoshi shoved the two out the front door into the pouring rain, turned off the lights, and closed the door behind him. The lights turned back on as someone inspected the area. When the lights flipped back off, Hiyoshi let out the breath he had been holding.

"Can we go back in now?" Kirihara asked as he attempted to cover his head from the rain. "You made me drop my popsicle."

"Ditto," Zaizen said as he avoided stepping on his cherry popsicle. Hiyoshi's was lying next to his.

Hiyoshi grabbed the door, but it wouldn't budge. He furrowed his brow, dug his feet into the ground, and yanked. It didn't move.

He took a firm stance, put both hands on the handles, and pulled back. His hands slipped due to the rain and he fell to the ground with a thump. He rubbed the back of his head as he stood up, swearing so softly Kirihara wasn't sure he had heard him correctly.

"Did you just say the s-word?" Kirihara asked, pretending to be horrified. He gasped when Hiyoshi glared at him. "I'm so disappointed in you!"

"The door's locked," Zaizen said.

"Obviously," Hiyoshi snapped. He continued to glare daggers at Kirihara. "This is your fault."

"What's my fault?"

"My key is in my tennis bag, which is in my room, which is inside the locked house. If you hadn't dragged us down into the dojo, my dad would never have come down and we wouldn't be out in the rain."

Kirihara wished he had a popsicle to stick in his mouth to keep him from saying something stupid. He did the next best thing, curling his lips tightly into his mouth.

"Isn't there a spare key?" Zaizen asked.

Hiyoshi shook his head and followed with a groan. He had been scared of his father catching him in the dojo that he hadn't even bothered to check if the door was locked. How could he have been so stupid?

Kirihara pulled the back of his shirt over his head, making him look like a turtle. "So, uh, any other way in? 'Cause I don't think getting sick before Nationals would make Yukimura too happy."

Kirihara shivered at the thought of showing up to practice sick. Or maybe he shivered because the rain was cold and he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Crap.

"Do you know how to pick a lock?" Hiyoshi asked, looking at Zaizen.

"Just because I have piercings doesn't mean I know how to pick a lock. I'm not a delilquent."

Hiyoshi sighed, but it was covered by a crack of lighting and a roar of thunder.

"Okay, we need to get inside _now_," Kirihara stated.

"Really? I didn't realize that," Hiyoshi replied. "This is just like the time Mukahi-san locked us out of the locker room and it started to snow."

"How did you get in?" Kirihara asked.

"Surprisingly, Akutagawa-senpai knows how to pick a lock."

"Really? That's weird."

"You could call him," Zaizen suggested. He looked at Kirihara. "And you can call Niou. They can tell you what to do."

"Akutagawa's asleep."

"And I'm not calling Niou at two in the morning. That's a death wish."

Hiyoshi groaned, grabbing his arms. If they couldn't get in, they could at least get dry. He gestured for the others to follow and then he began to walk towards the back of the dojo. He led them through the garden towards the very back. Pressed near the corner of the fence was a wooden gazebo surrounded by bright flowers and solar powered orbs. Kirihara sprinted and sat down on a dry bench. Zaizen and Hiyoshi walked in, sitting on two of the other benches that lined the perimeter.

"So we just wait out here until your dad comes out to feed the koi and he sees us?" Kirihara asked. "Because that doesn't sound like a good plan. He'll know we were down in the dojo and you'll be grounded for life."

"I'm thinking," Hiyoshi replied shortly. He felt like every time he's hung out with Zaizen and Kirihara it's ended with them in some ridiculous situation. From now on, they were playing tennis and would act like the others were the plague under any other circumstances.

"Let's climb the walls," Kirihara suggested. "We could be ninjas."

"We could try to pick a lock," Hiyoshi muttered.

"I'm sticking with my ninja idea."

"We could call your brother," Zaizen said.

Hiyoshi blinked, reached into the back pocket of his shorts, and dialed a number. He pressed a phone to his ear and said, "Can you unlock the back door? We got stuck outside. Thanks, bye."

Hiyoshi hung up. Kirihara gave him a look. "You know, Hiyoshi, you generally give people time to respond instead of shoving words down their throats."

Hiyoshi looked ready to respond with some smart remark but never got the chance. His phone rang, playing a loud up beat pop song that made Kirihara laugh. Zaizen looked close to laughing, but all he did was smile.

"Mukahi-san set it and I don't know how to switch it," Hiyoshi growled as he answered his phone. "What?" He paused. "I know it's two in the morning and it doesn't matter how we got locked out. Just come and unlock the door." Another pause followed by a sigh. "Fine. I owe you one. Now come downstairs, it's freezing out here."

Hiyoshi stood up and the others followed. When they reached the back door, Hiyoshi's brother opened it, allowing them to come inside. Teddy waggled his tail from the top of the stairs. Hiyoshi's brother shut the door, walked up the stairs, coughed up a lung, and walked down the hall. The three tennis players looked at each other and smiled.

.

They grabbed towels from Hiyoshi's bathroom to dry off before they changed. Hiyoshi took out his contacts and put on his thick-framed glasses. They all wore their school sweatpants and Kirihara was the only one to find that amusing. They were supposed to be rivals, yet they had just ninja climbed the wall to Hiyoshi's room (because that's how Kirihara was telling the story; the real version was boring).

Teddy slept with Hiyoshi's brother, finally leaving the trio alone. Hiyoshi fell asleep on his bed with his book still open and glasses askew. Kirihara was tempted as anything to give up on Mario Kart and draw on the Hyotei boy's face, but Zaizen talked him out of it. Eventually, the two gamers called it a night, and laid down in their futons to fall asleep.

"You love her," Zaizen stated matter-of-factly.

"Who?"

"Tachibana's little sister."

Kirihara made a noise in the back of his throat; Tanaka was the only other person to call him out on it. "I guess."

"I don't understand why you still do. It was all hormones in your brain telling you to act that way."

Kirihara sat up. Zaizen was on his back, his hands folded on his chest, and wasn't even looking at Kirihara. "I don't get _you_, Zaizen."

"Why? I'm perfectly normal."

Kirihara lied back down. "Okay. Whatever you say."

"If she broke up with Momoshiro, would you ask her out?"

Kirihara had never thought about it. Would he? He liked being friends with her, but hated it just as much. He messed their pizza-tennis dates ("Tezza nights are the best combination of the best stuff on earth," An used to say), he missed her goofy snort-laugh she pretended not to have, he missed sitting in the middle of nowhere complaining about the world and dreaming about the future. He wanted that back more than anything.

"I don't know," Kirihara eventually said. "What about you? You never mention girls."

"There's a girl I sit next to in anatomy," Zaizen admitted. "But I could never ask her out."

"Why not?"

"Shiraishi would kill me."

It took Kirihara a moment to understand. When he got it, he went, "_Oh_."

"Yeah."

Kirihara pressed his lips together. "So you like his sister. Isn't her name Yuki or something?"

"Yukari. The worst part is, she doesn't even know I exist."

"But you sit right next to her and you're on her brother's team. Obviously she knows you exist."

Zaizen sighed. "To her, I'm her lab partner who helped her skin a cat and the quiet kid who plays on her brother's team. We're not friends, not even close to it. She doesn't realize I exist as more than a name."

Kirihara let out a sigh of his own. "Ditto on that feeling. That's how it is with An. It's like she knows we used to be together, but she doesn't acknowledge it. If we act like it never happened, everything's fine. If I ever bring up a girl or she mentions Momoshiro, it turns to shit. I have to be careful about what I say and I hate it. We're just awkward around each other now."

A strange silence fell between them. They had never had an open conversation like that, let alone one that serious. The only guy Kirihara had deep conversations with was Miyagi and that was when they were half asleep at five in the morning.

A minute later, Zaizen said, "I hope Rikkaidai and Shitenhouji play each other at Nationals."

"Yeah. Just convince that captain of yours to let you play singles and we'll have the best match ever." Kirihara paused. "Are you sure you don't want to draw on Hiyoshi's face?"

Zaizen sighed through a smile. "I have a Sharpie."

Kirihara smiled. "Sweet."

.

The rivalry Kirihara, Hiyoshi, and Zaizen shared was unmatched. Atobe's urge to beat Tezuka, Yukimura's drive to win a third consecrative National title, and even Echizen's obsession with being the best didn't come close to the passion those three shared.

They were friends because they were rivals.

They had defeated each other countless times, but they kept trying to best the other two. They drove each other to do their best, to beat the people they'd always wanted to. They had a common goal that bound them together. They understood each other. They had all been kicked when they were down, felt left out, lost something just as they grasped it, and stood back up to try it all again.

They had their differences, though. Zaizen was the lazy genius who didn't quite understand his full potential as a singles player due to his partnership with Kenya. Hiyoshi was the opposite, working himself to the brink of exhaustion, and would probably collapse if it wasn't for Ohtori. Kirihara was the energetic one, always ready for the next challenge regardless of who it was against.

Tennis gave them a reason to break the walls between their three schools, but their friendship gave them a reason to keep meeting up even though they had all defeated each other a long time ago. They could not speak for over a month and then get together like it had been just yesterday, Kirihara was screaming at Hiyoshi across the court as Zaizen refereed. They still bumped their fists as a sign of mutual respect and friendship like they had in junior high.

But even if they weren't rivals, they would still be friends because, for some strange reason, they were each fond of the other two.

* * *

**A/N: Lissie Lupin and I had a long conversation about how Zaizen and Hiyoshi are under appreciated characters. I can promise that these two will appear in later chapters. Also, I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this, but this story will be 100 chapters total, ending when they graduate.**


	71. Chapter 71

**Chapter 71.**

Miyagi sat on the bleachers while the tennis team had their morning practice. He had shown up to school early to talk to Kirihara, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. That girly third year that ran the team had the boys running laps, then doing crunches, then running more laps, and then doing pushups. Miyagi always wondered how tennis gave anyone a six pack, but he finally understood. The tennis team went hard.

Kirihara tossed his hands into the air and clapped when he finished his laps. He jogged over to the bleachers, jumped up the steps two at a time, and then sat down next to Miyagi with a, "What's up?"

"You wanna hang out after school? I know you have extra-extra-extra long practices now and all, but maybe we could do homework?"

"Since when do you do homework?"

Miyagi grinned and shrugged. "Something I'm trying out. I actually did the math homework last night."

"If you keep doing this, I won't be able to hang out with you. I have a certain reputation to keep and I can't be seen with geeks." Kirihara smiled when Miyagi pushed his shoulder. The tennis boy used the shove to beginning rocking back and forth to the song in his head. "Okay."

"Okay _what?_"

"Okay, let's hang out." Kirihara stopped moving and gave his friend a strange look. "I could ask Miho. You two are getting along better now, right? I mean, you're actually talking outside of school."

"Short texts, yeah." Miyagi sighed. "I screwed everything up with the three of us, didn't I?"

"I have ten songs on the tip of my tongue that fit your situation perfectly." Kirihara paused. "It was bound to happen, you telling her how you felt. It'll smooth over. It just need a bit more time. Give it the summer. By the time we come back in the fall, everything will be alright."

Miyagi got a goofy smile on his face. "Next year is going to rock. We're going to raise so much hell. You're going to be captain, Miho's probably going to be the lead in every play, and I'll be the guy with the horrible grades who aces entrance exams and surprises everyone. Watch me major in Nerd in university."

"You should totally join the tennis team next year. Practice would be so much fun."

"But you have to be a respectable captain and if I were there, you'd get nothing done. Besides, I suck at sports. Do you remember when I broke my finger catching a basketball in gym?"

Kirihara laughed. "That was the best moment of my life. Well, maybe not best, but it's up there with the icing fight from junior high."

The ace was just beginning to enjoy a rare moment of fun during the torture that was morning practice. Then, as if on cue, Sanada's voice bellowed from the courts, "_Akaya!_ Stop slacking!"

The tennis ace stood up with a sigh. He looked down at Miyagi. "You, me, and Miho hanging after practice?" Miyagi nodded. Kirihara smiled. "Awesome. We can run it by Miho during class."

"AKAYA!"

"Go, before you get me assigned laps," Miyagi said. He had no doubt that if he continued to talk to Kirihara, Sanada would personally follow him until he ran ten laps.

Kirihara jogged down the bleachers to join the other regulars who were doing racquet swings. As Miyagi watched them practice, he wondered if he should join the tennis team. He had always joked about it. He wouldn't join the regulars, but it would be fun. No matter how much those members complained, everyone knew the tennis club was fun (once you got past the horrible practices that Nationals brought about).

Miyagi reached into his bag and pulled out his phone. He sent a message to Tanaka.

_Akaya's gonna be complaining all day. I say we sing "I'll Make a Man Out of You" whenever he complains. It's like a drinking game but with singing. _

He had not expected her to reply, let alone to say what she did.

_You can be the one to poke him until he shuts up ;P  
DUDE. Disney drinking game. We must do this.  
Grape soda shot every time someone says "Mufasa."_

Miyagi smiled. It was like things were normal. At least, as normal as they could be.

.

As predicted, Kirihara spent the entire school day complaining about how his thighs hurt. Between that huge math test and a pop quiz in English, it seemed like nothing was going Kirihara's way. He had training in the weight room after school and he could already tell that was going to burn for days to come. The only good thing that happened was Tanaka agreeing to hang out with the two of them, insisting they create a Lion King drinking game with gummy bears as chasers.

When the final bell rang, Kirihara groaned. "I don't wanna go."

"I'm going to see the advisor for the drama club to talk about getting my t-shirt," Tanaka said. "I'll hang out near the courts when I'm done."

"I'm going to head to the library," Miyagi said, jerking his thumb in a random direction. "Gonna knock out that essay like Mufasa."

"One grape-soda-gummy-bear shot and counting," Kirihara announced. His two friends smiled at him as they left the class room. Tanaka smiled, waved, then headed in the opposite direction. Miyagi cut down another corridor once they reached the bottom of the stairs. As Kirihara walked to his cubby, he saw Marui standing there.

"Yo," Marui greeted as he handed Kirihara his shoes.

"Uh, hi. Has practice been canceled?"

"I wish. Just avoiding Niou and Akira."

"Why?"

"Something about them hating me for acing our test in chemistry after I vehemently insisted I would fail." Marui rolled his eyes. "Idiots. As if I was honestly going to fail a test. I'm a genius. I only say that to screw with everyone."

"Whatever you say."

Marui tugged at his hair. "Respect your senpai."

"Sorry, Marui-senpai."

"Hurry up and get your shoes on. We gotta get going or we'll miss the big pyramid." Kirihara looked at him like he was insane. Marui tugged his hair again. "Sarcasm, Akaya. No one likes big pyramids. Big pyramids are _evil_."

Marui hissed the word "evil," which made Kirihara grin. For what was probably the first time ever, Kirihara agreed with Marui. That's when Kirihara decided the world had to be ending; he never agreed with Marui.

.

The regulars were given priority on the equipment in the weight room. Since there were now twelve regulars on intense schedules, that meant the other members spent the practice running on the treadmills, spotting, or pretending to do squats. By the end of practice, Kirihara had nearly dropped a ten pound weight on his foot as he removed it from Niou's bench-bar and Niou wasn't even throwing out insults. The Trickster had just laid there on the bench, his arms hanging at his side.

"Sanada!" Niou called. "I quit!"

Sanada didn't take his eyes off of Yanagi, who he was spotting for. "No, you don't."

Niou sat up and pushed his damp hair out of his face. "I need to start lying about my max or I'm going to die. I hate big pyramids. They're evil."

"Told you, Akaya." Marui smiled at Kirihara, who stuck his tongue out at him. "Oh, Akaya, I think it's your turn."

Kirihara had the feeling that if the bar fell on his chest that Marui would not help him get it off.

.

Marui took a twenty minute shower under the hottest water after practice. His muscles burned, his hands ached, and his legs felt wobbly. The only good thing about the intense weight room sessions was that the following practice was "regular bonding time" or "extreme stretching." Whatever it was, it meant they would be doing nothing hard so their muscles could relax and strengthen.

The red head towel-dried his hair after he tugged on his clothes. He left the locker room and headed to the baseball-softball courts. The baseball and softball teams had a joint practice, which was becoming rarer and rarer. As Nationals approached, it became obvious how much stronger the baseball team was. Their practices were too intense for the girls, even for Suzuki and Etsuko who were arguably the most athletically fit players on their team.

He spotted Suzuki sitting under a nearby tree with her math book. When he walked over, she stood up and sighed. "Dude. Practices are harsh."

"I can't feel any muscle in my body," Marui replied. "Suck it up."

"Do you know how many laps I ran?" Marui gave a half-hearted shrug. "I stopped counting at thirty. And it wasn't just running. It was high-knees and butt-kicks and everything that is horrible in this universe. I don't know how Ito does that every practice."

"You just run around the field. Our laps are worse."

She sighed as they approached the front gate. "Let's not turn this into a whose-team-sucks-more competition. Instead, let's talking about how wonderful it is going to be to sit down and study. Mainly the sit down part. Studying can suck my nonexistent dick."

Marui groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was study. It was bad enough his physical body was in pain. He didn't need to hurt his brain as well.

They walked out of the front gate, debating about whether or not they should stop somewhere to get something to eat. In the end, they passed the Corner Market because they weren't paying attention. It was obvious the heat was making them both more irritable than usual. The line between spring and summer was beginning to blur as the air got hotter and hotter.

When they were five minutes away from Suzuki's house, said said, "Do you know–?" She stopped half way through. "Never mind. I got it."

"Know what?" Marui asked.

"Nothing."

"Tell me!"

"Dude, I got it."

Suzuki gave him a get-your-stuff-together look (or maybe it was a you're-losing-it look; they looked awfully similar). She continued to walk, a bit of a spring in her step. Marui stared at her, wondering what it was she needed to know. Some song lyrics? The math homework? A reminder of how awesome he was?

"Akira," Marui said, his voice completely serious. "Tell me. I'm a genius and therefore, I can help. No. I'm a genius _because_ I can help."

"I told you, I got it. No need to freak, Bunta. I got this covered."

Marui continued to pester the captain until they reached their house. He finally stopped when she gave him a piece of her mom's fudge. Marui had a weak spot for that woman's fudge that went beyond words. Suzuki couldn't care less about fudge; she was just glad to shut him up.

They headed up to her room, deciding to study there instead of in the kitchen where her dogs Coco and Cinnamon could bother them. Suzuki dropped her bag on the floor, but Marui stood rooted in the doorway, staring at her dresser.

"You bought a replacement for Kiwi?" Marui asked. He approached the tank and saw a spotted leopard gecko. "What's his name?"

"Her name is Cookie."

"What is it with you and naming animals after food? Coco, Cinnamon, Kiwi, now Cookie."

Since the day Marui met her, her house had always been filled with animals. Her mother was a vet and Suzuki inherited her love for animals. Her father wasn't an animal person, but he was fine with dogs; any other animal had to stay in Suzuki's room. Marui remembered when Suzuki had a floor-to-ceiling tank for her iguana.

Suzuki shrugged as she walked over. She pushed him out of the way and pulled a pair of sweat pants out of one of her drawers. "I had another dog named Snowball before I met you. He got cancer when I was six-ish. Or was I five? Something like that. He's under that rose bush in the back. Ito and I planted it after my dad buried him."

"Five animals, all food names." Marui sat down on the floor and began to go through his bag for his books. "You have a problem."

She leaned against the wall so she wouldn't fall when she began to pull off her socks. "I had a bird named Creampuff. Oh, remember my iguana during junior high? Her name was Mint. I think Ito still has her..."

"You're insane."

"Being insane is fun. One day, I want to get a black cat and name it Pepper, then get a white cat and name it Salt."

Marui turned his head to say something. He watched as she pulled her sweatpants on under her skirt, then tug her skirt down and toss it next to her socks.

"You could have gone into the bathroom instead of scaring me for life," Marui said. She rolled her eyes and sat across from her, folding her legs so she was sitting criss-cross-applesauce. Marui went back to digging through his bag. "What is this test on again?"

"I didn't even know we had a test tomorrow until Niou mentioned it."

Marui and Suzuki froze at the same time. Together, they said, "_Niou._"

Marui sighed. "He's either lying so we waste all night studying for nothing or he wants us to think he's lying so we fail."

"I hate that guy. I liked it better when he didn't talk to me. Remember those days? Those were the good days when my head was not screwed with on an hourly basis."

"Trust me, you'd rather be Niou's friend than his enemy," Marui said. Once he realized what had come out of his mouth, his eyes went wide. "You're friends with Niou. That's insane."

"I know!" Suzuki tossed her hands into the air then brought them back down to grab her ankles. "So freaky."

"No, you don't get how serious this is, Akira. He is not friends with girls. He just isn't. He doesn't do that. It's like – I can't even think of a simile. He just don't do the whole girls as friend things." He paused. "Wait, I got one! Him being friends with a girl is like me not chewing gum."

Suzuki's eyes went wide. "For real?"

"For dizzle, yo."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay. You went from really serious to making me want to punch you." She paused, then smiled. "Yes, I'm in the friend-zone! Screw all those sluts who've been trying to impress him since that rumor last year."

"What rumor?"

Suzuki turned red. "Nothing."

"You brought it up. So spill."

"It's nothing really big." Marui was officially interested when her blush spread to her neck. She never blushed that hard unless she was talking about Ito. "There was just rumor that went around the girls' locker rooms for about a month last year. According to someone Niou messed around with, he's, well, yeah." She moved her finger apart like she was measuring something.

"Niou doesn't mess around so that girl was probably lying. And I've seen his – not on purpose!" he added hastily when Suzuki began to laugh. When she calmed down, he sighed. "He's not exactly a shameful person. We wear towels, he doesn't. You see things you don't want to see."

"So it's bull."

"Basically."

"Or are you just saying that so you feel better about yourself."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Marui asked. He wasn't going to be able to look Niou in the eye anymore. "Let's get back to you being happy you're in the friend-zone. Why is that a good thing? You just said you hated him messing with your head."

"One, he will never make a move on me. One-point-five, all the girls Niou 'dates' or whatever never talk to him once they end it, but I get to talk to him in the friend-zone. Two, if I need help disposing of a body, I have his rich-ness to help. Trois, that's three in French; Etsuko taught me that yesterday. And four, I'm craving a fruit bowl right now – you have no idea, Bunta, no idea."

"Fruit salad," Marui said without thinking.

She groaned. "We went forever without arguing over it! Why did you have to bring it up? We were doing so well. You suck, Bunta. Here I was thinking we could put this bowl-salad argument with the rest of our stupid arguments, but nope. You had to bring it up."

"I can't help but point it out because you're wrong!"

"_You're_ wrong!"

"Salad!"

"Bowl!"

"You sound like a drug addict, Akira." Suzuki was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing. Marui pressed is lips together. "Took you a second to get that joke, didn't it?"

She nodded dumbly as she laughed. She composed herself quickly enough, then seemed to be in deep thought. Eventually, she said, "Don't you love how we plan to study then end up talking about penises, drugs, and using Niou's money to get away from murder?"

"That's all we ever do."

"I know."

"We need help, Akira."

"Yup."

The two stared at each other, both thinking that they really needed different friends. Then, they both realized they couldn't find new friends even if they wanted to. They were both too insane.

.

Eventually, Marui and Suzuki did study just in case Niou was telling the truth. It was strange to think that after being in the same class for six years, the three of them had finally become friends. But, even then, they wouldn't put it past Niou to cast them as the stars in his next fiasco.

Suzuki's mother came home just as Marui was leaving. She insisted Marui stayed for dinner, but Marui said he had to go home and take care of the twins. They had been sick for the past few days and he was supposed to go straight there after school, but he hadn't... Suzuki's mother handed him a container of orange juice and told him to get home.

When Marui got home ten minutes later, he saw Haruto and Hikaru sitting on the sofa in the living room. They were wrapped in giant blankets and were surrounded by tissues. It looked like a plague zone. Haruto was playing a game on his handheld while Hikaru was texting someone on his phone. Marui walked into the room, set the container of orange juice on the coffee table, and sat in an armchair.

"Akira's mom told me to tell you to get well soon," Marui said boringly. "She wants us to come over once you guys are better."

"Okay," Haruto said. "I like Suzuki-san's cooking."

"It's spicy," Hikaru muttered, not looking up from his phone.

"Spicy is good."

"Hikaru. At least, I think you're Hikaru. So Hikaru," Marui said in his best big-brother voice. "Don't text people when you're talking. No one is that important."

"Mori-chan is," Haruto teased, raising his voice slightly. Hikaru stretched out his leg to kick him. Haruto coughed.

"You want medicine?" Haruto shook his head. Marui looked at Hikaru. "Who is Mori-chan? That soccer girl you had a crush on?"

"They went to the movies last week," Haruto said before Hikaru could answer. He had obviously been waiting to talk about it with someone. "He went to kiss her and –"

"Shut up!" Hikaru choked. He began to cough, curling forward and hissing into his hand. Once he had calmed down, he continued to glare at his twin.

"Okay, now you have me interested," Marui said. "What happened?"

"I missed, okay?" Hikaru hissed. He sunk lower into the sofa, the blanket falling on the top of his head so only his face was visible. He looked like a little turtle. "I took her on a date to the movies, I paid and all that, then we took a train back to her apartment. When I walked her to her door, I went to kiss her, she went for a hug, and I got her ear."

Haruto laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough. Marui spotted a bottle of water on the floor. He grabbed it and tossed it to his younger brother. He waited for Haruto to stop coughing to gauge Hikaru's embarrassment-level. It wasn't at its peak just yet, which meant it was safe for Marui to talk.

"It couldn't have been that bad," Marui said.

"It was," Hikaru insisted, sounding miserable. Whether the miserable-ness was from the illness or embarrassment or a mixture of the two was a mystery. "She just laughed at me, kissed my cheek, and went inside. It was awful. The first time I try to kiss a girl and I get her ear!"

"Haruto, have you ever been kissed?" Marui asked.

"Remember when I learned to play the guitar?" Marui nodded grimly; his ears were one day away from bleeding. "I played for the girl I liked at some party. She kissed me when no one was around, but really quick, you know? We hung out a few times, but we didn't kiss again. I tried to, but she kept finding ways to avoid it."

"At least you didn't kiss her ear," Hikaru grumbled.

"It's not that bad, Hikaru," Marui said. "My first kiss was with a cheerleader my second year. It was after we'd won Nationals and she just kissed me. I didn't even know her name. I'd rather have had a ear-kiss and get a second shot than not even knowing the girl's name."

Haruto pulled his phone out from under the covers and began to type.

"Really?" Hikaru asked.

"Really," Marui replied.

Marui's phone beeped. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw a text from Haruto – _u told me ur frst kiss was w/ a grl Sweet Treats...?_

Marui typed back a quick response – _trying to be good brother. butt out_.

Hikaru sat up, twirling his phone in his hands. "I'm texting her now. She's just been telling me about class and talking about soccer. Do you think I should ask her out?"

"If you like her, yeah. Go for it. Make a joke out of it, though. Girls like that. Ask if she wants to hang out then say something along the lines of, 'I'll listen to what you have to say' or 'my lips are sealed.' Then add some acronym like LOL or ROFL."

Hikaru gave him a skeptical look, then looked back at his phone. He typed something then looked at Marui. "I said, 'My lips are all ears.' Get it? Because the expression is 'I'm all ears.'"

Haruto curled his lips into his mouth. Marui nodded slowly, obviously trying not to laugh just like Haruto was.

"Sounds good," Marui said, giving him a big thumbs up. When Hikaru's phone vibrated and a smile filled his face, Marui assumed that horrible line had worked. Marui decided that his work was done. He stood up and looked at the two. "When you go to kiss a girl, keep your eyes open for a few seconds after she closes hers or else you'll hit her nose. Trust me, that's worse than the ear."

Hikaru wheezed instead of laughed. Haruto smiled.

Marui headed upstairs, trying to remember what his life was like without his stepbrothers. Honestly, he couldn't remember and he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to. They were absolutely horrible at times, but that didn't mean they were all the time.

* * *

**A/N: I love the twins :)**


	72. Chapter 72

**Chapter 72.**

There was no morning practice. It was one last gift to the regulars, who would be worked to the bone before Nationals began. Three years ago, they were going to claim their third consecutive title. Three years later, they were going to succeed in making that dream a reality. That meant long practices, no breaks, and a heck of a lot of team bonding, none of which Niou enjoyed.

Niou headed into school, taking the steps in twos. He opened the door to the student council room without asking and saw three people, two of which he recognized. Yagyuu was sitting at his desk. Chishu Usagi, the first year class president, was standing to his side. Another boy with short sandy hair, probably the second year class president, was standing on the opposite side of the desk.

"I'll wait for you nerds to finish," Niou said as he sat down at a desk with his phone.

"Niou-kun, what is ten factorial?" Yagyuu asked.

"Three million, six hundred twenty-eight thousand, eight hundred." Niou looked up from his phone. His first thought was that the question was Yagyuu's clever way of making Niou into the nerd. His second thought was that Yagyuu wasn't a jerk. So that left one option. "Are you doing math homework?"

"There, Chishu-chan," the second year president said as he wrote something on a piece of paper.

Chishu smiled. "Thanks."

"Did I just help the student presidents cheat?" Niou asked. "I'm disgusted with myself."

Chishu took the piece of paper off of Yagyuu's desk and slipped it into her bag. "I tutor before and after school, Niou-senpai. I didn't have a calculator to check a student's work so I came here. None of them had calculators either."

"We've been doing everything by hand for the last twenty minutes," the second year said with a miserable groan. "I hate math."

"Don't forget the applications for next year's board members," Yagyuu said to Chishu.

"I'm picking them up from the principal's office at lunch. I'll leave them on your desk."

"Alright."

"See you, Yagyuu-senpai," the second year said as he made for the door. "I have to get to baseball practice or Ito-buchou is going to kill me."

"Tell him Toots digs his lollipop stick," Niou said with an evil grin.

The boy looked at Niou, shook his head like he hadn't just heard that, and left the room. Chishu put her bag over his shoulder, said something to Yagyuu, waved at Niou – "See you, Cupcake," Niou replied – and left. The door closed behind her.

Yagyuu sighed. "Niou-kun –"

"You have circles under your eyes," Niou stated, looking back at his phone.

The Gentleman's skin looked sickly pale due to the dark circles hanging under his eyes. His glasses needed to be cleaned and his tie looked loose. He had a small razor cut at the top of his jaw. Niou didn't remember a single time Yagyuu cut himself while shaving, not even his first time. Yagyuu Hiroshi looked like hell.

"Naomi couldn't sleep last night," Yagyuu replied matter-of-factly. "Nightmares again."

Niou wondered if it was normal for a seven year old to have so many nightmares. Probably not.

"Graduation practice begins in a few weeks," Yagyuu mentioned. He was changing the subject. Niou figured he was in a good mood and went with it. If it was something important, Yagyuu would tell him. Or Niou would figure it out himself.

"Yeah. We're almost done with this hell hole."

"It has not been a hell hole."

Niou looked up from his phone and smirked. "I got you to swear."

Another sigh, "Niou-kun."

"I was thinking about Nationals last night," Niou commented as he returned his attention to his phone. "We need a new trick. How do you feel about switching?"

"We agreed not to do that again."

Besides their agreement, it would also be hard. Their skin tones were slightly different colors due to their tans and Niou had grown a bit taller than Yagyuu. That and they hadn't practiced a switch in three years, and it took months to perfect it the first time. There was also the problem of Yagyuu's Laser; Niou could no longer match its speed. And Yagyuu didn't know how to do Niou's split-step. They were too different.

"I'm not talking about a real switch," Niou said. "Just make them think we switched. We act like ourselves personified and then we begin to 'slip up' so they think we switched. You could swear or something and I could pop my collar up. Maybe switch racquet hands to serve for a few points. People would believe it."

"No, they wouldn't. We pulled it off flawlessly three years ago. The team didn't even know what we had done."

"And that's the brilliance of it, 'roshi. That was three years ago." With a sad, fake smile, Niou said, "We've gotten rusty."

Yagyuu pushed up his glasses. The day Niou Masaharu got rusty was the day Yagyuu streaked.

"Alright," Yagyuu said. "And why would we pretend to switch?"

"I'm glad you asked." He looked away from his phone, smirking wickedly at Yagyuu. "We play as ourselves personified, mess up, and our opponents think we're each other. They won't expect me, who they think is you, to do a Zero-Shiki or for you, who they think is me, to do a fast Laser. If we keep switching back and forth between each others personalities, we could screw with them so badly."

Yagyuu was silent as he thought it over. The idea of suspending their opponents in confusion and doubt was their old trademark, but it worked well. They weren't copying what they used to do. Niou took pride in his originality and no one would expect them to do something similar to their old switch.

It was brilliant.

"Okay," Yagyuu said. "If we're going to do this, I suppose we should do what we did three years ago and create lists of the other's noticeable traits and habits to study from. Only this time we switch papers and we amplify our own traits."

"I need to learn your new Laser."

"It's the same."

Niou shook his head slowly. "Your right foot. It's turned differently. You combined your Laser and a small Hadoukyu step. Since you don't move your entire body, it's less strain on your wrist. You use that extra momentum from stepping at the last second to increase the speed."

"I see." Yagyuu was surprised Niou knew that much about the move, but didn't let the shock show. After all, he had learned his poker face from the best. "We'll also need to practice when we begin to 'slip' or else one could do it before the other does. We'll need cues."

Niou nodded. "Good idea. Let's head to the club after practice and work on the moves."

"I can't go to the club today. Naomi will be at home."

"We can go get her. There's a huge area for kids. Foam pits and slides, all that good stuff they don't let anyone over ten years old use."

Yagyuu nodded. "Alright, then."

Niou grabbed his bag and stood up. He was still looking at his phone, but as he left, Yagyuu saw him smirk and heard him say, "Puri."

.

Yagyuu went back to the student council room during lunch. Chishu had placed a folder with applications for next year's board members on his desk as she had promised. The student body would vote, but first Yagyuu had to organize the event which meant he had to know who was applying. It seemed the important jobs all fell on the third year president. Yagyuu had no idea why it was like that, but he wished it wasn't sometimes.

He worked ten minutes after class restarted before returning to class. His teacher didn't mind. People seemed to automatically trust and respect him for his position. Yagyuu remembered switching with Niou three years ago during school. Niou didn't admit it, but Yagyuu knew Niou liked the respect people gave him when he dressed as Yagyuu. On the other hand, Yagyuu enjoyed the lack of expectations people gave Niou.

He began to think about the subtle but noticeable habits Niou had. He scribbled them on the sides of his notes as he thought of them – calls Urayama Ice-Cream-Head, leads with left foot forward, leads with right foot backward, does not meet Hyotei players' eyes. He began to wonder what crazy things Niou noticed about Yagyuu's habits that he himself hadn't been aware of. The idea was slightly disturbing.

After taking a test he had spent two hours studying for, the final bell rang. He scooped up his bag, changed his shoes in the lobby, and headed for practice. The summer heat was coming on strong. He could already feel a thin layer of sweat on the side of his nose; he had to push up his glasses when they began to slip.

He opened the door to the locker room, headed for his locker, and began to change. Yukimura exited his office, Sanada and Yanagi following behind them. Yukimura blew a whistle, causing several members to swear when they jumped and jabbed a toe into their locker.

"Regulars are doing singles practice today," Yukimura announced. "However, all members are to complete their laps, stretches, crunches, pushups, and swings. Once you have finish, sit in the stands. You can learn a lot from watching seasoned members play."

The other members continued to change and filter out, leaving the regulars to talk amongst themselves.

"Who are we playing against?" Marui asked.

"Marui, you're paired with Urayama," Yanagi said. "Jackal with Oyama. Niou with Yagyuu. Akaya, you're with me."

"Can I play Sanada-fukubuchou?" Kirihara asked. He had that look in his eyes.

Yanagi looked at Yukimura. The captain nodded and said, "Yes, Akaya, that's alright."

"Seiichi, I, and a few third years whom I have already spoken with will be refereeing the matches," Yanagi added.

"One more thing," Yukimura began with obvious distaste. "I received an email from the chairman of the Junior Tennis Committee and a certain – let's say acquaintance – informing us that Hyotei will be participating in the National Tournament this year due to the location of the tournament. We will know our first opponent within the upcoming weeks."

Marui groaned and Niou looked like he just ate something sour, but Kirihara was happy. Hiyoshi would be playing. He might get that match.

"Is that the only way they can get into the tournament?" Marui asked, half-mocking, half-groaning. Hyotei's chants always gave him the worst headaches. Akutagawa did bring him sweets and keep Suzuki occupied, though.

"Was that acquaintance Atobe?" Niou asked. Yukimura nodded. Niou sneered bitterly as he muttered "puri." He could not get rid of that guy. He would bet all his money that Atobe would be his roommate in hell.

"We will treat them with the same respect we would treat a team who earned their spot by winning at Regionals," Yukimura said with a smile. "That also means we will beat them like all the others. Now, finish changing and go outside. We have work to do."

The regulars began to filter out of the locker room. Yanagi, Sanada, and Yukimura were the last ones to leave the locker room. By the time they came outside, the regulars had finished their laps, and only a few people were running. One first year, who had come running into the locker room five minutes late, was running by himself. Yukimura sped up to catch up to him, but saw Urayama slide into place next to him and jog alongside him. Yukimura slowed and smiled.

Once everyone finished their laps, stretches, and daily sets, the regulars took their places on the courts. Yanagi and two third years approached Yukimura.

"Renji, you will referee Akaya and Genchirou's match. I'll take Marui and Urayama-kun's," Yukimura said. He looked at the two third years. "You can chose who referees the other two. Just remember, call the shots as they are and ignore any argument the player gives. Your judgement is final."

They nodded and then turned to face each other so they could play rock-paper-scissors. Yukimura walked towards his court, grabbing several balls out of crate as he passed, and then approached Marui and Urayama.

"Who's serving first?" Yukimura asked.

"Ice-Cream-Head."

The captain handed Urayama a ball, then climbed into the chair. "Marui versus Urayama. Urayama to serve."

Yukimura watched as Kirihara and Sanada walked to the far court to play their match. The captain and the other regulars were interested in watching their teammates battle it out, but were unable to as their own matches began.

Jackal and Oyama were being refereed by a third year. Despite being very adept doubles players, they were both proficient singles players. Oyama's abilities in singles were more surprising than Jackal's. All veteran regulars were seasoned, National-level singles players. Oyama seemed to flourish as a singles player. The Ringmaster controlled the court and put on a jaw dropping show.

Unlike Oyama, Urayama was not flourishing. The trapeze-like grace he had shown against St. Peters seemed to have disappeared. He fumbled to warm up and when the match began, he was like a clown who couldn't get any laughs. He didn't appear to be playing poorly on purpose. He had the skill and the heart, but his tennis style simply prevented him from playing singles.

Niou and Yagyuu were being refereed by a third year that seemed to be lost. Niou and Yagyuu were pulling out all the stops and the referee couldn't seem to follow the ball. Niou's Laser wasn't as fast as Yagyuu's, but as the matched progressed, his stance shifted, matching Yagyuu's new form. Slowly, his Laser became faster and faster. Yagyuu began to reach shots more quickly, jumping the way Niou did when using a split-step. They were anything but rusty.

Yagyuu was ready to swing his racquet and return Niou's cross-court shot when he heard Marui's voice.

"I GIVE UP!"

Yagyuu returned the ball, then turned his head to see what Marui's shout was about. Niou had done the same, the ball bouncing past him. Two courts down, Marui was make quite a scene. On the other side of the net, Urayama was watching Marui with his usual expression.

"He can't even return the ball!" Marui shouted. He looked at Urayama. "I'm sorry, Ice-Cream-Head, but it's true. You suck at singles."

"I told you I couldn't play singles," Urayama said.

Marui walked up to the referee stand, pleading with Yukimura as he said, "He just isn't a singles player. He can warm up as a singles player, but when it comes down to playing a serious match, he's screwed. This is just a waste of my time."

Yukimura hummed, looking at Urayama. The first year followed the ball and returned it without aiming. In doubles, he only had to cover half a court. In singles, he had to cover the whole court and his play style wasn't very effective. Just hitting the ball was a simple strategy, but rather ineffective without someone like Oyama, who controlled the match for the both of them.

"Game and match, Marui," Yukimura said. Finally able to look away from the match, Yukimura looked at the next court where Sanada and Kirihara were playing.

"Game Sanada! Three games to three, Kirihara to serve!" Yanagi announced.

"No way," Marui muttered. "Akaya's tied with Sanada? With Yanagi, all Akaya had to do was overpower him, but Sanada?"

Yukimura looked down at Urayama and saw him smiling; the first year took pride in his old captain's strength. Yukimura slowly returned his gaze to the rally that had started after Sanada returned one of Kirihara's Knuckle Serves. Kirihara was strong, but that didn't mean he would be the victor.

There were a few obvious differences between the two players. Sweat was dripping off of Kirihara as he ran from corner to corner. He was lucky to hit a return. Becoming the offensive player was impossible. Sanada was calm, hardly sweating, and returning Kirihara's shots with a calm mind.

But it was too early to determine who would win and who would lose.

"What are Sanada-fukubuchou's elemental moves again?" Urayama asked. He had approached the referee chair Yukimura was sitting in and sat Indian-style in front of it. Marui was also sitting down by the chair, staring at the match and taking in every detail.

"Elemental moves?" Yukimura questioned.

"Well, after your year left, people just started calling them 'elemental moves,'" Urayama explained. "By the time I was a third year, people were exaggerating the Big Three stories so much it was funny. I remember having to show a picture of you to a first year who was convinced you had a buzz cut and tattoo."

"How in the world did they get that idea?" Marui asked. "Oh, wait, never mind. If you hear stories of power, you imagine a powerful person. Got it."

"Um, Buchou, the moves?" Urayama prompted gently.

"His 'elemental moves' aren't necessarily moves, just parts of his tennis style," Yukimura began to explain. "He has a swing that appears invisible to most – 'swift like the wind.' He has a strong defense that nullifies offensive moves – 'immovable like a mountain.' He has he ability to remove a spin from a powerful shot – 'quiet like the forest.' He can also remove any emotion from himself – 'formless like the shadows.'"

"What's the point of that one?" Urayama asked. "It seems stupid."

"For someone who only follows the ball and ignores their component completely, it would seem rather pointless. However, since most players study their opponent's movements, emotion is important. Niou in particular uses emotion to his advantage. His psychological games depend on the opponent revealing their emotions. If you can't tell what your opponent is thinking, you don't know what they're going to do.

"Genchirou takes pride in his ability to control his feelings. He is rather good at hiding it from everyone, on and off the court. It makes it hard to tell what he's thinking, which is why many see him as a cold individual. Of course, Renji and I can tell the majority of the time."

Except for when it really mattered, Yukimura thought.

"What's left?" Urayama asked. "There's that thing that messed up his knees three years ago at Nationals."

"It's a dangerous offensive technique that is very hard to return – 'strike like lightning.' He does not use Lightning anymore at my command."

"Why'd you command him not to use a powerful move?"

"I couldn't possibly lose my vice-captain to an injury when our journey to the top had just begun."

"'kaaay," Urayama drew out. "So there's Wind, Mountain, Forest, Shadow, and Lightning. I thought there was another one."

"'Invade like fire.'"

"That's right! Kirihara-senpai could never get past his Fire."

"That's correct, Urayama-kun."

"But it's more than that," Marui said. "Akaya copied it. Well, I think he did. It's different. That move he did during his match against Yanagi and against St. Peters was just like Sanada's fire. He's evolved it into something more powerful."

"He only hit that shot in a demon mode," Urayama pointed out. "He hates going demon. He'll fight his anger even if it means losing to Sanada-fukubuchou."

"We taught him," Yukimura said. "We taught him to use the move when his anger is sobered. He has yet to perfect it – eighty percent of the time the shot goes out – but he is close. We want him to be strong so he can continue to rise above the rest when we leave. Some may call it foolish to train the boy who is trying to overthrow you, but we don't see it that way."

"How do you see it, Buchou?"

"He is strong, perhaps strong enough to defeat Genchirou. However, I don't believe he has the power to become the best. His body has its limitations. You see, some people are born to play sports. They're geniuses, gods among men. Other people aren't. So how do normal people stand amongst the gods? They train. Those people push their bodies to their limits to fight with the best. Sometimes they win, but sometimes they fail."

Urayama looked confused. Marui leaned towards Urayama, half lying on the courts, to whisper, "He means Akaya will never be strong enough to beat him."

"That is not what I meant, Marui. I was simply saying some people will never give up. If you never give up, it doesn't matter how many times you fail. That's the blessing given to those who work hard, they know how to pick themselves back up. When a prodigy falls, they fall hard and sometimes they never get back up."

"Did you fall hard when you lost to Echizen?" Urayama asked. He wasn't taunting and he meant no harm, but the look Marui got on his face made Urayama regret his words.

"I did, but I didn't stay down." Yukimura paused. "Sit up, Marui, and watch."

Marui sat up, not daring to look up at his captain. Urayama looked back at the match.

"Game Kirihara! Four games all, Sanada to serve!" Yanagi announced.

Urayama's eyes went wide. They just played two games that quickly?

Sanada's serve slammed across the court. Kirihara returned it. Sanada's shot came fast and hard, but Kirihara returned it. Shot by shot, Sanada took control. He forced Kirihara to run from corner to corner, taking his points by finishing the rally with a Fire that Kirihara was helpless against.

"Forty-love!" Yanagi called.

"Come on, Akaya, you're getting soft!" Sanada called as he served.

Kirihara growled and returned the shot. He ran forward, hitting Sanada's return from the front. Sanada didn't even more to hit the ball – even with the power of Wind in his footwork, he wouldn't have made it there in time. He was starting to pace himself. He was getting serious. Kirihara, on the other hand...

"Forty-fifteen!"

"Forty-thirty!"

"Deuce!"

"Advantage, Kirihara!"

"Game Kirihara. Five games to four, Kirihara leads. Kirihara to serve!"

Kirihara definitely wasn't pacing himself.

Kirihara tossed the ball up into the air and sent it flying. It twisted when it hit the court, jerking away from Sanada at a low angle. Sanada had to reach down low to return the serve; Kirihara smirked at the shocked expression that slipped past Sanada's mask.

Kirihara hurried to return the shot. He sent a Short Snake around the pole and close to the net. He wasn't surprised to see that Sanada was already there, using Forest to remove the spin to hit a drop shot. Kirihara swore and sprinted forward, managing a lob that he knew would end badly.

"Invade like Fire," Sanada said.

The shot that followed sent Kirihara's racquet flying and had Yanagi calling, "Love-fifteen!"

Sanada adjusted his cap, turned and returned to the baseline. Kirihara licked his lips as he turned, tightening his grip on his racquet. He couldn't hit it, couldn't control that fire. He'd find a way, though. He had to find a way. He had that move, his own Fire, but it was risky...

Kirihara served, twisting the ball at a sharp angle. Sanada twisted his body to return the shot. Despite his contorted position, the vice-captain was able to control the ball with ease and managed to add to its initial power. Kirihara return the ball, a rally starting, neither taking on an offensive or defensive play style. They returned the ball directly at the other, daring each other to make the first move and betting on who would mess up first. Sanada made the first move, but he didn't mess up.

A swift swing – "Love-thirty!"

Kirihara served again. A few hits into the rally he took a chance and hit a Short Snake. Sanada wasn't easily fooled; he returned the shot, but the power was more than he expected, and his ball lobbed. Kirihara waited then pounced, jumping into the air and slamming his racquet against the ball.

A strong smash – "Fifteen-thirty!"

Go, go, go, was all Kirihara could think. Sanada was strong, stronger than he was, and that meant he had to attack to win. He sent slice after slice at Sanada, waiting for his Mountain to break. It would break, it always did. But Kirihara slipped up in his hurry and Sanada took his shot.

A quiet drop – "Fifteen-forty!"

Kirihara served a regular, sharp, fast serve. Sanada returned it with a corner shot and then went up for a poach. Kirihara lobbed the ball before thinking what that meant. He watched the ball come back down and Sanada take that dreaded position.

An invading fire – "Game Sanada. Five games all. Sanada to serve!"

The other matches had stopped. Niou, Yagyuu, Jackal, and Oyama had walked over and sat near their captain. Niou and Yagyuu on the court bench, Jackal next to Marui, and Oyama next to Urayama. The power and energy the two were giving off was hypnotizing.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Oyama asked Urayama.

Urayama shrugged. "I don't know. Kirihara-senpai is strong, but so is Sanada-fukubuchou. I don't know..."

"It comes down to which player's method is best," Yukimura said. "The player who controls his power throughout the match or the player who releases his strength in one shot."

"The player who controls his power," Marui said. "You can make the match last longer, take control of the flow, and score the points that matter."

"I think it's the player who releases his strength," Urayama said. He grabbed his ankles, the weights bulky beneath his hands. "If you score all the points before your opponent, you win."

Yukimura hummed, neither siding nor disagreeing with either of the two. To him, it didn't matter how power and strength were released. When it came down to it, the stronger player would win. In this match between the Emperor and his subject, the winner was obvious.

Kirihara was out of breath when he returned Sanada's serve. The vice-captain's shots were heavy and strong. Kirihara could no longer tell if Sanada was putting a limiter on his power or not. If he was, Kirihara didn't know how he would win. If this was his true power, Kirihara knew he had a chance as long as he didn't give up. He could not lose, that was the law of Rikkaidai.

Kirihara swore as the ball flew past his racquet.

"Fifteen-love!"

Kirihara would not lose, not after coming this far. He returned the next serve with all his strength, his muscles aching. But the ache was worth it to see the ball miss Sanada's racquet by a hair.

"Fifteen all!"

"Fifteen-thirty!"

"Fifteen-forty!"

"Game, Kirihara! Six games to five. Kirihara to serve."

Urayama sucked in a deep breath. Kirihara looked tense, but not worried or anxious; if there was one word Urayama had to pick to describe his old captain in that moment, it was excitement.

"I think _you're_ going soft, Fukubuchou," Kirihara said with a smile. He bounced the ball several times, preparing to serve.

"Don't think this is over yet, Akaya," Sanada scolded. "This is far from over."

"Four serves isn't that far."

Kirihara bent his body and tossed the ball into the air. Sanada's return was a head-on attack – the ball was heavy with spin and straight to the corner. Kirihara ran to return Sanada's harsh shots. Kirihara used his split-step, getting to a shot faster than Sanada had expected, and took the offensive role from his vice-captain to score a point.

"Fifteen-love!"

Kirihara sent a Tornado Snake flying. He gasped for air as he watched the ball land behind Sanada. He couldn't keep this up. His body was beginning to protest against the strain. His stamina was nonexistent, but something kept him going.

"Thirty-love!"

Kirihara hit a drop-shot that Sanada could barely reach. Kirihara knew he couldn't hit the return, but the return never came. The drop-shot that been so close to the net that Sanada's return hit the faded white netting.

"Forty-love! Match point, Kirihara."

Whatever it was that kept him going had disappeared. His throat was dry, his mouth was sticky, his hand was so sweaty he could hardly hold his racquet, his legs were shaking, and that stupid mantra was on repeat in his head. He tried to pull out a little more energy, but when Sanada's racquet disappeared when he used Wind, his invisible swing, he didn't have the energy to try and return the shot.

"Forty-fifteen! Match point, Kirihara."

Sanada removed the spin on his Short Snake. Kirihara stared at the ball rolling on his side of the court from Sanada's Forest drop-shot.

"Forty-thirty! Match point, Kirihara."

If they went into a deuce, Sanada would win. He would take control of the match and Kirihara would be helpless. He had to finish it now.

Kirihara bit the inside of his cheek as he served. The numbness distracted him from the torturous ache his body was suspended in. Sanada had to be feeling that same ache. If he was, there was no sign of it. His Shadow was hiding his fatigue, if there was any fatigue to hide. That man was a monster.

Sanada took control, running Kirihara ragged. Kirihara jolted forward to hit a drop-shot. Sanada reached it almost instantly, returning the shot with a lob to the baseline. It looked like it was going to go out, but Kirihara knew better. Sanada could hit a lob to the baseline a hundred times and it would never go out.

Kirihara turned and sprinted. He had to reach that ball, had to hit it, had to get this point or else it was all over. He reached the ball, but his return was poor and wild. The ball lobbed high into the sky and Kirihara swore loudly. He clenched his jaw as he watched Sanada take his position. The Emperor was going to invade and there was nothing Kirihara could to do stop it.

"Invade like fire," Sanada said.

The shot came burning towards Kirihara. He couldn't return Sanada's Fire, but he could fight it – he could fight fire with fire. Yanagi said it didn't work eighty percent of the time, and that was probably an underestimation. But he had beaten Yanagi and his data. He didn't care about numbers and facts. He had to win and there was only one way to do it. It was a gamble logically, but to his gut it was a no-brainer.

The second year took a stance similar to Sanada's, but it was wild and free.

_Consume like an inferno_, Kirihara thought.

The ball shot past Sanada like a gust of hot wind. It slammed into the baseline and twisted off wildly like a flame. It bounced several more times, twisting and writhing in different directions. Finally, after four bounces, it began to roll lazily.

"Game and match. Kirihara wins, seven games to five!"

Kirihara Akaya had beaten Sanada Genchirou. He'd done it. He had won.

Kirihara fell onto his back, spread-eagle on the court. He couldn't help it, laughter bubbled out of his throat like steam. He was still laughing when Sanada walked over. The vice-captain offered his hand, but Kirihara shook his head and coughed, "Can't move. Too tired."

Sanada sighed, reached down, grabbed Kirihara's hand, and yanked his junior to his feet. Kirihara stumbled, but managed to catch himself before he fell on to Sanada. The last thing he wanted to do was hug Sanada. The vice-captain would probably strangle him.

When Kirihara met Sanada's eyes, he didn't see anger or contempt. He saw a strange sort of pride and warmth that he didn't usually associate with Sanada Genchirou. It was almost like he was human. Almost.

"When you entered high school, we expected you to be the same kid you were," Sanada admitted. "But you changed during your time as captain. You're still changing. I have no doubt in my mind that Rikkaidai will reach new heights under your care next year."

"I got someone else to beat before I start worrying about that," Kirihara said. "But, yeah, the new height thing sounds cool too."

Suddenly, Kirihara's eyes went wide. He smiled and began to jump in place.

"What?" Sanada asked irritably.

"_I beat you!_" Kirihara shouted giddily. He stopped jumping and covered his mouth with his hands. He moved his fingers away from his lips to whisper, "Please don't kill me for beating you, Sanada-fukubuchou. I'll run a million laps, just don't kill me."

Sanada sighed. Kirihara Akaya would never change and maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

* * *

**A/N: The Kirihara-Yukimura match won't be until much, much later. In fact, if I tell you the chapter number, you will kill me. Tell me: who do you think will win?**

**I have the rest of this fic planned and I may at one point (if I lose my mind) come back and edit it. HOWEVER. Before I embark on the madness that is the last 30 chapters, I want some serious con crit. I'm aware of the grammar and spelling errors. I'm talking about characters (OC and cannon), tennis matches, genre content (friendship, romance, humor, slice of life, drama, angst, etc...) - anything I can take into account before I write the final chapters, which will be getting lengthy. I will be sincerely grateful if you take the time to do that for me.**

**Also, moving into college tomorrow. I will probably disappear for a bit, but I will be back.**


	73. Chapter 73

**Chapter 73.**

Urayama and Oyama were the last regulars to enter the locker room for afternoon practice. They walked past first, second, and third years towards their lockers in the back. A shirtless Marui was boxing a pantless Jackal. For some reason, that didn't bother the two first years. They were becoming accustomed to the regulars' weird ways.

"Oyama, you got any candy?" Kirihara asked as the first year opened his locker.

Oyama pulled his school bag in front of him and opened it. He reached inside, pulling out a zip-lock bag of sour gummy worms. He handed it to Kirihara and said, "Keep it."

When Oyama put his bag into his locker, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a jawbreaker. Kirihara wondered if the guy just sprouted candy. The image of gummy worms coming out of Oyama's ears made him laugh.

"What's so funny, brat?" Niou asked.

"Nothing, Senpai." He closed his locker. "I'm gonna go run my laps."

"Akaya," Sanada said. Kirihara froze and looked ready to cringe when he turned around. It'd been a few days since Kirihara's victory and no one had addressed it yet. "You did not challenge for singles-two, but if you so desire, you may have the spot."

Kirihara blinked. "Huh? No. I don't want that. Well, unless I can play Hiyoshi that way 'cause he's singles-two." He stopped and Sanada didn't respond so Kirihara kept spouting out nervous babble, "You're stronger than me. I won by luck and 'cause Yukimura-buchou didn't order you to take off your cap or limit or whatever. But it still counts as me beating you!"

Marui rolled his eyes. "Kid, we get it. You're two up with one to go. Good for you. Now shut up before you get all of us laps."

Kirihara looked nervously at his vice-captain. Then, that nervousness disappeared. He stood up a little straighter and the look in his eyes changed. "Sanada-fukubuchou, thank you, but no thanks. That spot belongs to someone really strong and I don't think I'm quite there yet. So it's yours. Can I just go run my laps?"

"Go."

As Kirihara jogged towards the door, he felt a several pairs of eyes on him. Third years. His victory against Sanada probably added fuel to the flame. He shook his head, removing those thoughts from his head. He stretched his left arm across his chest as he opened the door. Then, he jogged off.

.

It was an easy practice to give the regulars a break before National-training started. Members were allowed to play games on the court, which the regulars refereed. According to Yukimura, knowing the game inside and out, and being able to judge calls fairly, was a sign of a level-headed player.

Urayama was one of the few regulars who didn't get stuck referring a match. He decided to spend the practice jogging. It cleared his mind. He could forget about the math test he hadn't studied for and that uneasy feeling in his gut, like nails and thick honey in his stomach.

Near the end of practice, he decided to call it a day. He stopped jogging and lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face with it. He looked for an empty bench, but couldn't find one. Even the bleachers were filled with students or members. He didn't see Oyama either.

Deciding to get out of the hot sun, he walked off the courts and into a grassy area near the bleachers. There were a dozen or so trees clustered together. It was just out of sight; the perfect place to tug off his shirt and spread out in the grass under the shade of a large tree until the end of practice.

"Hey, girlie."

Urayama turned. Two third years sauntered over with haughty looks. They were the ones who hung around Hayashi, the ones who tripped him after the Regional Semifinals. What were their names? Ikeda and Goto?

They walked with stiff shoulders like the St. Peters players had. They walked like monsters. Like bullies.

"Please don't call me that, Senpai."

"'Senpai?' Oh, he's respectful," Ikeda teased. He took a step towards Urayama, who took a step back. Ikeda grinned. "Come on, don't be like that."

"Seriously, shouldn't you be used to this by now?" Goto asked. He approached Urayama from the left, forcing the first year to back into a tree. The two third years towered over him with malicious smiles that made Urayama's stomach twist.

"I don't know what you two are talking about," Urayama said. "I should get back to practice. Please move."

"Don't act innocent," Ikeda said. "You're no better than Akaya-chan."

"What? I'm not like Kirihara-senpai at all."

"Hey, Ikeda, maybe he hasn't been upgraded to team whore yet," Goto said. He looked from his friend to Urayama, leaning in too close for comfort. "You're not sleeping with them, are you? You're probably just screwing your freak of a partner."

Urayama turned red. "I'm not!"

"Oh, but I bet you want to," Goto pressed. "But don't go thinking you can have a relationship. I mean, Akaya-chan will be all over a girlie little fag like you next year. It's a team tradition here for the regulars to fuck the younger members. Didn't you know that? That's how your dear Akaya-chan made the regulars last year. Sanada was too busy looking at him, that's why he lost."

"That's not true," Urayama muttered, forcing himself to look Goto in the eye. "Yukimura-buchou and the others would never do that. You're just saying that because you're jealous of Kirihara-senpai."

"And why would be jealous of that whore?" Ikeda asked.

Urayama shifted his glance to Ikeda. His voice was firm, stronger, as he stated, "You're jealous because Kirihara-senpai is better at tennis than you, and you're jealous that Kenta and I are better than you, too."

Goto grabbed Urayama's hair and tugged up, forcing Urayama to his the tips of his toes. Memories flashed back into Urayama's mind and his entire body shook with fear and the anticipation of pain. He could feel his heart speed up, his lungs stretching and emptying rapidly inside his chest, his muscles tense.

"Want a preview of what's to come?" Goto whispered.

That's when Urayama screamed. Ikeda covered Urayama's mouth with his hand before his scream reached full volume, but it was too late. Someone had to have heard him.

Goto twisted his fist in Urayama's pink hair. "You damn brat! I thought you respected your elders."

"Maybe he needs to be taught a lesson," Ikeda said with a feral grin. "Or maybe we can let Akaya-chan do that for you."

"_Let him go_."

Urayama looked between the two third years. Oyama stood in the grass, his face void of all emotion except for rage. Ikeda moved his hand off of Urayama's mouth and backed off, but Goto didn't remove his hand from Urayama's hair.

"Didn't you hear me?" Oyama asked, closing in on them. "I said, let him go."

When Goto let go of Urayama, who ran to Oyama's side, Ikeda made a run for it. The third year made it ten feet before he bumped into Kirihara, who fisted his hands into his shirt, and pushed him back into the tree Urayama had been pressed against moments earlier.

"You can give me all the shit you want, but you will not touch my teammates," Kirihara hissed. He pulled Ikeda away from the tree and shoved him back against it. "What the hell did you say to him?"

"Nothing," Goto and Ikeda said in unison.

Kirihara looked at Urayama, who was now standing next to his partner. "Urayama, what did they do?"

Urayama felt like he was shrinking. His heart was pounding and his mind replayed the pain from years ago. He knew bullies only hurt you more if you squealed. He knew they would punch you harder if you told. But Kirihara wouldn't let that happen, would he?

Before Urayama could answer, someone else joined the scene. Hayashi.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Hayashi shouted at Ikeda and Goto. "I told you to cut the crap and leave them alone!"

"Get over yourself, Hayashi. All the other third years know we're right," Goto said.

"No, they don't," Hayashi argued. "They just sit there and make up rumors because they're too lazy to practice! What the hell did you two do to him?"

Kirihara did a double take. Hayashi wasn't behind the rumors? Kirihara suddenly realized that despite the smirks Hayashi sent his way, Hayashi never said a word, never laughed at Kirihara when he fell, never skipped a practice. Hayashi was a little full of himself, but he had never once hurt Kirihara. Not like Ikeda and Goto, not like the other third years.

"We didn't do anything," Ikeda said. "Ask the brat."

"Don't call him a brat!" Kirihara pressed his fists into Ikeda's chest, causing the older boy to gasp in pain. He pressed, more, more, more, until the third year's face was screwed up in pain. "Look at me."

Ikeda opened his eyes, and was greeted with two red eyes staring back.

"Please, please! I'm sorry! We're both sorry!" Ikeda shouted.

Kirihara pushed harder, harder,_ harder_. "Aw, is the big guy gonna cry? Want me to go get your mommy?"

_"Please!_"

"Kirihara, stop!" Hayashi shouted.

"Not until I break his ribs."

"Kirihara-senpai, stop," Urayama pleaded. "Bullying a bully doesn't help at all. It just proves that you're no better than them."

Kirihara didn't move for a moment. He had been called a monster a million times and he had always brushed that name aside. But embracing the name gave him power. Power to protect himself from all the jerks that looked down on him. Power to protect his friends.

"Kirihara-buchou, stop," Urayama repeated.

Kirihara slowly released Ikeda's shirt. The red disappeared from his eyes, but the hatred didn't. When Kirihara took a step away from Ikeda, the two third years sprinted away from the practice, not even bothering to get their things from the locker room and risk facing the wrath of Yukimura.

Once they were out of sight, Kirihara turned to the first years. He wanted to apologize, but the words were caught in his throat with the other threats he never spoke. Urayama had grabbed his arms, holding them across his chest in a protective gesture, and moved behind Oyama. Kirihara had scared them, his friends, his teammates.

Maybe he really was a monster.

Oyama didn't even look at Kirihara. He was too focused on Hayashi, who stood rooted in that same spot.

"You aren't responsible for this, are you?" Oyama asked the third year. His voice was even, but there was a hint of danger, like he would snap if he didn't get the answer he wanted. Given what happened at Regionals, Kirihara wouldn't be surprised that Oyama was still on edge.

"At first, yeah, I was. But it was all locker room talk. Just complaining about Yukimura and the practices. Ikeda and Goto are the ones who started the harassment. I tried to make them stop, but I guess my influence went down when I actually started to like this stupid sport and respect those who can play it. I honestly didn't mean for any of this to happen. Kick me off the team or whatever, I don't care. I probably deserve it."

No one said anything. Then, "He's telling the truth."

They all turned. Niou stood with his hands in his pockets, the rest of the regulars jogging over. Yukimura calmly walked to the front, but everyone could tell he was angry and concerned and all the things Yukimura never was.

"I want the four of you to come to my office. Now."

.

Yukimura sat at his desk with Sanada and Yanagi on either side of him. Urayama, Oyama, Kirihara, and Hayashi sat on the sofa. The other regulars were in the bustling, gossip-filled locker room, watching over the members as they changed. Marui could be heard shouting, reprimanding anyone who dared to say the name of someone in the office.

Finally, after several minutes of dead silence, Yukimura spoke.

"Urayama-kun, have there been other incidents of harassment?"

The first year shifted in his seat. "No."

"We can report them," Yukimura said, sensing that Urayama was lying through his teeth. "They could be suspended, possibly expelled. They won't be able to hurt you for what you tell us."

Urayama shifted again. He glanced at Oyama for a moment, and then back at his captain. He had never truly known Yukimura, but Kirihara vowed that he was a good person. Urayama trusted what Kirihara said because in the end, Kirihara would always be his captain, not Yukimura.

"It happens all the time," Urayama said softly. "I don't keep track of who pushes books out of my hands or shoves me into a locker."

Yukimura raised his eyebrows for the briefest of moments; then, his perfect facade was back. "This occurs during school as well?"

Urayama moved his mouth like a fish out of water. He could talk about anything and smile in the worst situations. Bullying was always the one exception.

Kirihara remembered the bruise he saw on Urayama's ribcage in the locker room. Urayama had told Yukimura he was shoved into lockers and had books shoved out of his hands. It was more than that. It was bad enough to force Urayama keep cover-up in his tennis locker to hide his bruises from his partner. Urayama hated violence so he covered up the bruises and lied to protect the bullies from Oyama'a wrath. He was protecting the jerks who tormented him day after day because of his morals.

"Yukimura-buchou," Kirihara said, filling in for Urayama, "it's my fault all this crap happened. Don't interrogate them. I should have reported all of this months ago."

"Then I'm to blame, too," Hayashi said. "Hell, I practically started this whole thing."

"There were problems before you joined the club," Yanagi said to Hayashi. "We are also to blame. We knew of the harassment and allowed Akaya to handle it in whatever manner he chose. Akaya, how exactly did you handle this? We have yet to hear the specifics of what occurred today."

"Listen, I didn't mean to," Kirihara began. The Big Three sighed. They knew what was coming before Kirihara continued. "I got mad, okay? I_–_I didn't mean to. You guys know I hate getting mad. I didn't hurt him_ that_ badly. I don't think I did..."

"Hurt who?" Sanada questioned.

"I don't know his name," Kirihara said. "I just kept pushing him. He called Urayama a brat. I don't think I _actually_ broke his ribs. He just made me so mad. You know I can't control myself when I'm mad. I mean, he hurt Urayama. What else was I supposed to do? I just — I'll shut up now."

"What you're telling me, Akaya, is that you physically assaulted someone and escalated the situation," Yukimura said. Kirihara nodded slightly. Yukimura nodded, his mask slipping into place and hiding any emotion so that even Niou would have a hard time decisivering what he was thinking. "If we were going to report Ikeda and Goto, we must report Akaya."

"You don't have to report anyone," Urayama said quickly. "I'm fine."

"Oyama-kun, what do you have to say?" Yukimura asked.

"My opinion is worthless," Oyama said, his voice level. "Shiita is the one who has the final say in the matter. Whether or not those two are reported is up to him, not me."

"Urayama?" Sanada questioned.

"Kirihara-senpai would be suspended, wouldn't he?" Urayama asked.

"At the very least, yes," Yanagi said. He didn't add that Kirihara had already been suspended twice for physical assault since he entered high school and the punishment would be far worse for a third offense. Yukimura's influence was stretched to its limit on the last two suspensions; it would be worthless this time.

"We can, however, remove Ikeda and Goto from the club for other reasons. File an insubordination report, say they're preventing club progression. Akaya would not be suspended if we did this," Yukimura said. "Of course, this won't solve the harassment problem."

"I'll take care of that," Hayashi said. "If someone is dumb enough to start rumors then they're shallow enough to listen to what I have to say."

"I recall having a difficult time with you," Yukimura mentioned. "How am I sure you're not involved?"

"I may be a bit stubborn, but I'm not a jerk."

Yukimura looked between the four. Kirihara had that lifeless look in his eyes, like he was thinking of every horrible thing he had ever done. Oyama looked as though he had never felt any emotion in his life. Urayama looked petrified. Hayashi looked guilt ridden.

Yukimura exhaled deeply. Then, he placed his finger tips to his temples and rubbed, completely silent, thinking. Sanada would want to report this. Yanagi would only say facts. Despite what Oyama had said, the final decision was Yukimura's.

When Yukimura lowered his hands, he said, "Ikeda and Goto will be removed from the club. Akaya, you will be placed on club suspension for a week for your behavior. Urayama-kun, Oyama-kun — I believe it would be wise to take a few days away from the club until things are sorted. Does everyone understand me?"

The four nodded.

"You are dismissed," Sanada said.

"Actually, I would like a word with our first years," Yukimura said with a kind smile.

Hayashi left without a word. Kirihara stood, forced a smile at the first years, and then left for the locker room. When the door shut, Yukimura's smile seemed to become more polite.

"Urayama-kun, Oyama-kun," the captain said. "I understand you were on Akaya's team when he was captain two years ago in junior high. However, I would like to remind you that you are on my team now, not his. Are we in agreement?"

Urayama nodded. Oyama stared blankly at Yukimura.

"You may go," Yukimura said, his smile never faltering.

The two first years left the office. The majority of club members had left. The regulars were like guard dogs. Kirihara was standing at his locker, changing out of his practice uniform. Hayashi was surrounded by third years eager to know the details, but the boy told them to leave him alone.

Urayama and Oyama past Kirihara and opened their lockers.

"Do you want to hang out?" Kirihara asked suddenly. He didn't want to go home. He was so tense with anger that seeing his parents or his sister would make him snap.

"You can come over to my apartment," Urayama offered. "Kenta and I were probably just going to play some video games."

Kirihara nodded. "Cool."

When Urayama pulled a shirt over his head, Kirihara saw a bruise near his ribcage. It was nasty and deformed, purple and yellow. That couldn't have formed that quickly. That was from awhile ago. Kirihara's gut told him it wasn't the only bruise Urayama kept hidden.

.

Kirihara always forgot that Urayama and Oyama lived in an upscale apartment complex. It was similar to finding out Niou was from a wealthy family. It didn't fit their personalities. Kirihara always assumed rich people were like Atobe. He wouldn't call Urayama and Oyama rich, but Kirihara probably could fit three of his apartments into one of theirs.

Urayama opened the door to his apartment, shouting out that he was home.

"Your parents are home?" Oyama asked.

Urayama nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Well, my mom is. Dad's coming home later. Mom's making my favorite tonight. You can come."

"My mom is coming home around seven. I told her I'd eat dinner with her."

The three walked inside, slipping off their shoes at the door. Urayama's mother came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a white apron. Kirihara had met her a few times back when he was captain. She was a small woman who had curly brown hair; Urayama had the majority of her features. When Kirihara didn't want to go home and Miyagi or Tanaka weren't an option, he came to Oyama or Urayama. Oyama and Urayama's parents were honestly the nicest people he had ever met in his life.

"Shiita, Kenta-kun," his mother said, smiling. She looked at Kirihara. "Kirihara-kun, right?"

Kirihara nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Sorry I didn't call, it was last minute," Urayama admitted.

His mother nodded. "I see..." She looked at Oyama and Kirihara. "Are you two staying for dinner?"

"My mom's coming home later," Oyama answered.

Kirihara looked at Urayama, who said, "Can Kirihara-senpai spend the night?"

Urayama's mother looked at Kirihara, who smiled politely. She sighed. "I suppose that would be alright, but only because it's not a school night. The extra futon is in the hall closet. I'll call your father and tell him Kirihara-kun is staying."

"Thanks. We'll be in my room. If you need help just ask, 'kay?"

The three walked to the back of the apartment, entering Urayama's room. It wasn't neat, but it wasn't messy. Half the items in the room were either blue or tennis-related. There were at least ten stray tennis balls ready to give someone a sprained ankle.

Oyama and Kirihara sat down on the beanbags that were pressed up against the wall across from Urayama's bed. Urayama walked over to his dresser and grabbed a pair of sweatpants and a shirt.

"I'm gonna change," Urayama said as he walked to the bathroom door. He closed it behind him, leaving Kirihara and Oyama.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kirihara asked as he looked at the door Urayama had closed. "He seems off."

"He's used to it."

Kirihara had forgotten how closed off Oyama could be at times. If the first year had something on his mind, he wouldn't speak it to anyone but Urayama. Kirihara was the same way with Miyagi.

"Being used to it doesn't mean he's okay," Kirihara said. "Those guys said some nasty crap to me. I don't even want to think about what they said to him."

"Why?" Oyama looked at him, his face impossible to read. "Because of how he looks?"

"I just meant that he's close to you. Guys get shit for being close to other guys. Satoshi and I used to be called gay all the time. Miho got called a whore for hanging out with us. Then people learned to shut their mouths because they knew I'd beat them up or at least threaten to."

"Shiita's gone through more than being called gay." If Kirihara didn't know any better, he would have said Oyama was mad. Maybe he was mad. He remembered how Oyama looked at Kanto Regionals, at the way he protected Urayama.

"You mean being pushed into lockers and stuff?" Kirihara asked.

"It's not my place to say."

"Hey, I'm only trying to help. In case you realized, half of this mess is my fault." Kirihara stopped and looked the other way. Firmly, almost angry, he asked, "What happened to him that was so horrible? What's worse than bullying?"

"He meant me cracking my head open," Urayama said. The short first year stood in the doorway in a pair of sweatpants and a pale t-shirt with his head down.

"Shiita—"

"I don't take that long to change." Urayama lifted his head to look at his partner and smiled. Then, his smile vanished as he moved his eyes from Oyama to Kirihara. "I moved here when I was nine. That's when I enrolled in Rikkaidai. Before then, I lived up north, went to a different school."

Oyama stood up. "I'm leaving. I need to feed Sapphire and clean up before my mom comes home."

Kirihara nodded. Urayama watched Oyama as he left. When the door clicked shut, Urayama sat down on his bed, pulling his legs under him.

Kirihara was used to his teammates keeping to themselves. Niou, Yagyuu, Sanada, Yukimura — they never really shared anything about their personal lives. He had forgotten what it was like to be on a team where people talked. That's how it was when he was captain. They were friends. Urayama was still his friend.

"Grade school was bad. I looked like a girl, more than I do now. And don't try to tell me I don't. I know I do. I just — I don't care what I look like. I know who I am and I don't need the approval of others. They're just jealous."

Kirihara didn't say anything.

"It started with silly things. Having my shoes dunked in water or my bag turned inside out. Then I got older and people got meaner. Near the end of grade school, I was getting shoved into walls and getting my hair cut. My parents called the school nearly every day. The principal said she was doing everything she could. But every day I showed up with a new bruise or cut. My parents were furious.

"One day, a teacher finally said something to the kids. They cornered me during recess and called me a tattle tale. They said I had squealed. I told them I didn't, but they didn't believe me. So they — they pushed me. I hit my head on the ground.

"It was really bad. I was in the hospital for a week 'cause I kept blacking out. I still have the scar." He rubbed at a spot that his pink bangs covered. Then, he lifted his hair. Kirihara saw a small, thin scar running along his upper temple. Urayama moved his hand, his hair falling back into place. "We moved a week after I was released."

"Oyama already lived here, right?"

Urayama nodded. "Yup, but other kids didn't like him. He was too smart and too tall and was spoiled by his parents. Kids picked on him, called him names. He knew the material so he didn't do his work and got in trouble a lot. He got blamed for fights he didn't start because he looked scary. He spent every day clapping erasers during recess or after school. I think he resented everyone else even if he didn't show it.

"I got in trouble 'cause I couldn't focus. I didn't take meds back then and people thought I was being rude. I wouldn't pay attention and it made the teachers mad. I would never do the exercises in gym because all I wanted to do was run. So I got stuck clapping erasers along with Kenta. We would walk home together after school. We just became friends. We didn't really have anyone else.

"Kenta was in my room after practice during our first year of junior high. He was playing with a tennis ball and it rolled under my bed. When he went to get it, he found a shoe box. I don't know why he looked inside of it or what he expected to see, but he looked and found pictures of me from when I was a kid. One picture was of me in the hospital with my head wrapped up. I explained what happened and he became — well, you know how he can be.

"I don't really know why he became that way. He just — he didn't really have a friend before me; not that I had any friends either. I guess it freaked him out to think that I could have been hurt, that I could still be hurt. People don't really think about losing someone until something bad happens, you know? I tried to tell him that it didn't matter, but he could tell I was still freaked out over it. I kind of still am freaked out over it...

"Um, anyways. People stopped messing with me around that time 'cause Kenta got even taller and started getting his piercings. We stopped being the girlie boy and the freak; we became the gay kids. I guess people thought the reason we stuck up for each other was because we were together even though we're just friends. I dyed my hair pink during our second year when those rumors started. It was my way of saying screw-you to everyone who judged me."

Urayama paused before continuing — _girlie little fag_, that's what Goto had called him.

"Well, you know the tennis part. Both of us joined our first year, made regulars the following year, I was your vice-captain, and I stayed vice-captain after you left. I'm not as smart as Kenta, I couldn't have risked joining the high school club right away because I didn't know how hard the work was going to be, so I waited until the New Year to join. Then we started challenging and ended up joining the regulars. I became the new target for the third years and here we are."

Urayama grew silent.

Then, he said, "That's it. Ta-da."

"I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to say to that," Kirihara admitted. Urayama managed a small smile. Kirihara ran a hand through his hair. His fingers got stuck on some knots, so he pulled his hand out. "_Dude."_

"Yup."

"I forgot you had brown hair."

Urayama smiled halfheartedly. "I don't think I'll dye it that much longer. My hair's getting kinda gross. It's weird for a sixteen year old to have pink hair."

"No, keep it. It's more subtle than how I tell people I don't care."

"How do you do that?"

Kirihara smirked. "Flip them the bird and say, 'You don't like me? Look at all the glorious fucks I give.'"

Urayama laughed, falling to his side. Kirihara laughed, too, because he had actually said that to someone once. As their laughter subsided, Kirihara gave Urayama a thoughtful look.

"It doesn't matter, but are you?" Kirihara asked. Urayama looked confused. Kirihara bluntly said, "Gay?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"What does that _mean?_" Kirihara groaned.

Urayama rolled his eyes and laughed a bit more. It was the same laugh Tanaka and Miyagi used when the other made a joke in class. It didn't sound natural.

"Seriously," Kirihara said, "you okay?"

"I'll be fine. Promise." Urayama paused. "Kenta'll get over it eventually. He always does."

"Whatever you say." Kirihara's eyes landed on a set of Nintendo gameboys on Urayama's dresser. "Please tell me you have Pokémon."

"Duh."

Urayama stood up, and Kirihara realized that he would be okay. That kid was tougher than he looked, and even if he wasn't, he was part of the team now, and the regulars stuck up for one another.

Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi would keep an eye on him and assign anyone with suspicious intent laps. Marui and Jackal would drag him to Comet Café for scones. Niou and Yagyuu would come up with some ridiculously complicated scheme to make it look like Niou accidently got roped into paying for a team outing at Sweet Treats. And Kirihara...

Kirihara would be his friend. Like always.

That was just what a family did.

He just hoped that would be enough.

.

Dinner with the Urayamas was a strange experience considering Kirihara didn't particularly like his family and forgot what it was like to be in a loving home. The Urayamas loved their son more than anything or anyone in the world. Urayama didn't mention what happened a practice just that there was a fight so he wouldn't have to stay after next week. He figured Urayma's mom and dad didn't know about the bullying.

After eating the meal Urayama's mother made, the two high schoolers set up the futon in Urayama's room. Afterwards, Kirihara took a shower, walking out into Urayama's bedroom in his boxers. After Urayama showered — he didn't bother changing out of his sweatpants and t-shirt — they talked tennis and played a few video games. Eventually they fell asleep.

Urayama was dead asleep when the screen of his phone lit up. He woke up immediately; he had always been a light sleeper. He grabbed the device off of his nightstand, reading Oyama's text message — _balcony_.

Urayama looked down at Kirihara, who was asleep on the floor. Urayama rolled out of bed and crept over to the sliding door. He opened it up, and stepped outside. Oyama was standing on the adjacent balcony, leaning on the railing as he looked out over the city.

"Hey," Urayama said as he closed the door behind him.

"Hey," Oyama replied.

"You need to talk or something?" When Urayama didn't get a response, he waved his phone at Oyama. "You texted me. What's up?"

Oyama shrugged a single shoulder.

"I can take care of myself so stop worrying. Okay, Kenta? I'm not a helpless nine-year-old anymore. Maybe I was a little freaked out today, but I'm fine."

Oyama turned his head, staring at his best friend. "You shouldn't let people walk all over you. It's not healthy."

"It'll stop after high school," Urayama said. He didn't sound convincing, even to himself. "The bullying, I mean."

"Shiita, you—"

"I know what you're going to say," Urayama cut in. He stared at the skyline for a few moments before softly saying, "I should tell someone. I know I should. But the last time someone was called out on it, I got hurt."

"If you told someone, I wouldn't let them take revenge on you for 'squealing.'"

"You shouldn't have to stick up for me. Guys are supposed to be able to fight their own battles. I _hate _that I can't stand up for myself. Even in tennis I need you. I can't do anything without help and I hate it." Urayama dropped his head. "I'm pathetic."

"Since when have you ever cared what guys are supposed to do and be? You're smarter than to follow gender roles." Oyama let out a heavy sigh when Urayama didn't reply. "They want you to be afraid. Not reporting them is like letting them win. You remember our plan. No losses before we become the best doubles pair in the nation. That means we can't lose, even to bullies."

"Kenta, please be quiet."

Oyama didn't listen. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Kenta—"

"Why aren't you listening to me?"

Oyama usually looked so calm, so controlled. Now, he looked disorganized and unfocused. He pressed his palms against his eyes, then slid his hands up into his hair. The cool, indifferent expression returned to his sharp features and when he spoke his voice was level.

"I won't let them hurt you, Shiita."

Urayama took in a deep breath, and then lifted his head to look at the only friend he ever had. "Tomorrow, first thing in the morning, you're going with me to the principal's office. And don't let me try to talk you out of it. No matter what I say, make me go."

"Okay."

"Okay," Urayama repeated, as if to confirm that everything would be okay.

Because it would definitely be okay.

* * *

**A/N: First! New fic called ****_Seducing the Mushroom King_****. Hiyoshi and OCs in high school. Give it a shot even if it doesn't seem like your usual thing. Back to Organized Chaos stuff:**

**College kicked my butt. Sorry. Updates will be slow, but they will come eventually. Also, random fact: before the episodes of New Prince of Tennis came out, I was under the impression that Urayama had pink hair. The anime showed him with brown so the dying thing is my compromise.**

**Also, I talked about this with a review a long time ago and I tried to mention it briefly, but... Sanada was not playing to his full potential. In the last chapter, Yukimura admitted that he told Sanada not to perform certain moves. Kirihara was aware of this, but, honestly, I think beating Sanada at the level Yukimura wants Sanada to be at is good enough for Kirihara. Sanada is still the stronger player.**

**More stuff:**

**I have been asked about Oyama and Urayama's relationship multiple times and here is my official response: Urayama is a cannon character who has very little official info leaving me to interpret him from the few pages he appeared in the manga. Oyama is an OC I created to match and interact with my interpretation of Urayama. They are best friends and tennis partners, nothing more. Oyama's sexuality is irrelevant and so is Urayama's.**

**Okay. This is just info on my process behind Urayama and Oyama, and some info that is not contained in the fic, but is important to understanding them. If I wanted you to fully understand who I meant these characters to be, I'd need to write two of the three missing years from this fic: when Kirihara was captain, and when Urayama and Oyama were third years. Just think of this as a giant fun fact.**

**Oyama Kenta was raised by a nanny, inherited his parents' intelligence (though I wouldn't say Oyama is a genius), and was bullied through school for his attire and strange his appearance and the fact that his parents spoiled him to make up for never being around. As a child, he did not talk to others because he knew what they thought about him. He's not cold, he's just calculating and intelligent and rational. He resents a lot of the other first years who are friends with Urayama.**

**Urayama Shiita (note: head-cannon, not real) was always picked on, was doted on by his mother, was never the brightest kid, learned to run from bullies and continued to run to calm himself, and never learned to stick up for himself. He is often compared to Yukimura due to his appearance. But Urayama, despite his appearance and ditzy personality, has guts. He was able to stand up to Oyama while he was in demon mode. The kid's got balls. Yet, when it comes to bullies, he still remembers that problem from grade school.**

**During junior high, when Kirihara was captain, they were Kirihara's rock. There are moments in this fic where Urayama literally catches Kirihara while he falls. Urayama is Kirihara's prodigy the way Kirihara is Yukimura's. Oyama and Urayama are like Sanada and Yanagi to Kirihara and have pieces of his personality — Urayama's guts, Oyama's anger, their loyalty to Rikkaidai, their determination, etc... These two are the legacy that Kirihara created, and I cannot show that in this fic — I doubt I could ever show that to its full extent. Urayama is also one of a select few who can calm Kirihara down (Shirashi, Yanagi, An, and Tanaka being the others), and he is the only one who can snap Oyama out of his demon mode.**

**Put the two together and you get two people who rely on each other because without the other, they cannot properly function. Urayama taught Oyama to be more social, and Oyama taught Urayama to stick up for himself. Without each other, they cannot see the world as a good place or be completely happy. It's not healthy and it's not meant to be. It's supposed to be a little strange because co-dependency is not a normal healthy thing, but they're not exactly normal people. **

**Basically, this chapter doesn't get close to explaining it. I hate this chapter no matter how many times I rewrote it because it doesn't explain what I needed to say. So I just had Urayama say it all even though he would normally not do that; there was no other way.**


	74. Chapter 74

**Chapter 74.**

Yukimura canceled the regulars-only morning practice and scheduled an extended afternoon practice for all members (minus Urayama, Oyama, and Kirihara). He had other matters he needed to attend to once he got to school and did not have the time to oversee morning practice. He would usually trust Sanada or Yanagi, but it was his club and his responsibility, not theirs.

He ate breakfast with his sister, who was texting a boy between her bites of Lucky Charms. Yukimura didn't like the idea of his sister dating just yet. He would prefer her to be celibate if that was possible. Yukimura knew he was being a hypocrite and setting a double standard, but he didn't care. Two years ago, Emiko couldn't stand the sight of a boy. Now she was...

"Seiichi, do you think you could cover my shift at the shop on Monday?"

Yukimura looked up from his cereal. "Why?"

Emiko turned red.

"No," Yukimura answered, not waiting or her to explain. "I'm going out with Chou."

"Liar. I texted her yesterday and she said you didn't have plans until Tuesday. She's surprising you with brownie-cupcakes when you go over to her apartment. I told her you like extra M&Ms, so you're welcome."

"Why does it seem like you know more about my relationship than I do?"

Their father walked into the room wearing a pair of khaki pants and X-treme's official polo. He covered mouth with a hand as he yawned. Then, he asked, "Are you two behaving?"

"Dad," Emiko began, pulling out her adorable puppy eyes and 'daddy please?' voice, "can I go to the movies on Monday?"

"Sure."

"It's with a boy," Yukimura said.

"No," their father said as he approached the counter.

Emiko sighed as she sunk down in her chair. "Mom would have let me."

That did it. Their father grabbed a bowl and sat down with them at the table. "She has a tape for that, you know. Your first date. It's fifteen."

"That's when mine was," Yukimura added. "Fifteen."

Emiko sunk in her seat a little. Before their mother had passed, she had made videos that they would watch on certain birthdays and important days (graduation, moving out, marriage, and a dozen others). Yukimura remembers his twelfth birthday the most—welcome to junior high, the birds and the bees, and stick up for your sister. It was a strange memory that he was very fond of.

"Please?" Emiko pleaded. "I'm not going alone. It's a few of us from the swim team. He asked me and then said that others were coming. There will be more girls than boys."

"I suppose it's alright then," their father said. He looked at his two children. His daughter looked exactly like his late wife. His son had his mother's eyes, cheeks, and hair, even if he dyed it. They were both as stubborn as her and just as kind.

"Dad?" Emiko questioned. "You okay?"

Their father smiled. "You two grew up too fast."

Yukimura wasn't sure whether to smile or frown so he put a spoonful of cereal in his mouth.

.

Despite having no morning practice, Yukimura was in the captain's office digging through papers. He couldn't find the forms he needed to fill out to remove Ikeda and Goto from the club; he didn't even know what form he needed.

With a sigh, the captain stood up from his desk and left the his office, then the locker room. He entered the main building and headed for the main office. The old woman with wiry gray hair at the front desk smiled at him, recognizing him from his many visits to the office to request funds or get forms for tournaments.

"Yukimura-kun," the woman greeted. "How can I help you today?"

"I'm not quite sure, actually. I'm looking for a form to remove a member from the club."

The woman frowned. "I thought the tennis club didn't kick people out."

That was true. Up until now, Yukimura never had to ask for such a form. The tennis team understood some members wanted to compete and that others just wanted to play. As long as people showed up to practice and did as they were told, they were allowed to stay. People did quit, but that had been their own choice.

"We don't," Yukimura began, "but there was an incident. I need two forms, if you don't mind."

The woman stood and turned to the filing cabinets behind her desk. As she looked through the folders, she asked, "Does this have anything to do with that boy who came in here today? He mentioned being in the tennis club."

"What boy?"

The woman turned, handing Yukimura two pieces of paper. "Short, pink hair, very kind. He came in here with a friend. He was very kind, too. A lot taller, though."

"I know who you are talking about, but I don't know why they would be here." Yukimura taped the papers against his hand in thought. Then, he smiled warmly at the woman. "Thank you for your time."

"No problem. Good luck at your next tournament. Bring home another National title, okay?"

"Thank you. And I'll try my best."

Yukimura turned and left, tucking the papers into his back pocket to fill out and turn in during lunch. He thought about Urayama and Oyama and why they would be in the office. As he walked down the stairs, he spotted Kirihara with those two he was always with—the boy and the girl. Yukimura nodded to him; Kirihara waved.

Yukimura realized the two first years probably had some sense knocked into them by Kirihara. If Kirihara could teach Urayama to stick up for himself and Oyama to stay by his friend no matter what, Yukimura was alright with them being loyal to their old captain. After all, Kirihara had changed quite a bit over the last few years and Yukimura supposed it was about time he started to inspire the younger members.

It was Kirihara's turn to form a legacy.

.

By lunch, Yukimura had figured out why Urayama and Oyama had been in the office. He heard in a text from Marui, who had been texting Urayama to see if he was okay. The first year gone to the office and reported everyone who had bullied him, which lead to what was probably a record amount of suspensions. As far as he knew, Ikeda and Goto weren't mentioned, probably to cover for Kirihara's temper tantrum. That didn't matter, though, because Yukimura dropped off the forms during lunch. Those two were no longer members of the Rikkaidai tennis club due to insubordination.

On top of all of that, Harada had worked some magic. Apparently Harada was quite popular amongst the student body. No one wanted anything to do with Ikeda and Goto now.

Yukimura spent the rest of the school day taking notes on his teacher's lectures and scribbling training ideas in the margin. They needed to work on different doubles combinations, he wanted to test Marui's new defensive prowess (Yukimura didn't know how he became such a good defensive player or how Jackal became an offensive one), and Kirihara's Inferno still needed to be fixed. Once Kirihara, Urayama, and Oyama could come to practice, he would have them play matches. He sighed when the bell rang and gathered his things.

With more than a fair share of things on his mind, Yukimura headed to practice. He changed quickly and exited the locker room, spotting Koga on the hill. He smiled, waved, and then began to run. He ran with the early comers and didn't stop until the last person had finished their laps. His palms had become slick with sweat.

The members went through the rest of the daily routine—stretching, sit ups, pushups, then more stretching—before Yukimura blew his whistle. The regulars lined up in front of him with the exception of Yanagi and Sanada who stood dutifully behind him. It was strange seeing the regulars lined up and not seeing Kirihara, Urayama, and Oyama alongside the others. They would have to work hard when they returned.

"Today," Yukimura began in a loud, clear voice, "the regulars will be practicing and returning serves on the first two courts. The rest of the members will also be practicing serves. If you fail to return your serve, you will run two laps and do ten pushups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks. Regulars, you will run three and do twenty of the aforementioned. Rotate the server after ten serves.

"Please remember to keep hydrated as the days are growing hotter. You will be allowed to go to the fountains to refill your bottles if necessary, but if I notice that you're taking too many trips—well, I'm sure that won't happen."

He smiled then ordered, "Begin."

Everyone but the regulars scrambled to grab balls from the crates and find a court. Yukimura watched Hayashi closely, noticing he chose to practice with a few second years who were on the path to becoming regulars. If Hayashi was a second year, Yukimura had no doubt he would have been a great regular next year. Too bad that couldn't happen as he was a third year.

Yukimura wondered from court to court, suggesting who should be drinking more water and fixing slight problems in their form. By this time ever year, almost all the members were able to serve proficiently, many focusing solely on increasing a serve's power or speed. Some members who were regulars in junior high were polishing their old specialities with Yukimura's permission.

When it came time for Sanada to receive serves, Yukimura was called over. It would be pointless for Sanada to practice serving with anyone but Yanagi and Yukimura, and Yanagi was already busy serving against Marui. Yukimura did not hold back and neither did Sanada. The Emperor returned the first nine serves with corner shots, but the tenth hit the edge of the line.

"That was out," Sanada said.

"I believe it was in, but if you see it as you, then run," Yukimura replied.

Sanada nodded. Yukimura expected nothing less of his vice-captain who accepted nothing less than perfection.

Yukimura began to run with some of the younger members, encouraging them to run faster. Some plain out refused while others tried. Yukimura smiled kindly at one boy in particular who was friends with Urayama. The boy had potential and didn't give up, even when he was practically sprinting alongside Yukimura. The captain assumed that the boy had been on the regulars in junior high along with Urayama.

"Look out!"

Yukimura didn't know who had yelled, but he stopped so quickly the person behind him slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. Yukimura could feel his right leg bend and the blossom of pain that followed was sharp and hot. A ball flew over them, rolling into the grass.

The courts went silent and nobody dared be the first to move. Koga sat up straighter, straining to see if Yukimura was alright. Sanada jerked forward to scold the boy who had hit the bad return. Niou, however, stormed over to the idiot second year before Sanada got the chance.

"You," Niou hissed. He stopped inches away from the boy, who was too afraid to even back away. The voice that came out of the Trickster's mouth was not his own, but Sanada's. From the right angle, Niou could have been Sanada. "Run. Ten laps. _Now_."

The second year nodded and began to run. Niou returned to the court he was serving at, looking over the net at Yagyuu.

The boy who had run into Yukimura was a first year. Yukimura stood up, putting his weight on his left leg, and smiled reassuringly at the nervous looking boy. "I'm fine. Continue your laps."

At that, Yukimura walked away and practice continued. He went back to correcting forms, but eventually returned to running laps with the others. After thirty minutes, there always seemed to be someone running laps which meant Yukimura didn't stop. He pushed on, a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his neck as he jogged over to a bench to get his water bottle. He took a small sip, turned the bottle upside down, and sighed. It was empty.

"Genchirou," he said, approaching Sanada. His voice was perfectly even. "I'm going to refill my water bottle. I'll be back in a moment."

Sanada nodded as Yukimura walked into the locker room. No one seemed to find this strange even though the fountains were outside. The tennis team did not question Yukimura's actions. Koga, however, was not part of the tennis team. She spotted two first years sitting on a nearby bench, just within hearing range if she listened hard enough.

_"Wow. _Buchou isn't even tired," one first year said. "I don't know how he does it!"

"I guess that's what happens when you practice a lot," his friend replied. "We should probably practice our swings or something while we wait to serve. That's what Urayama and Oyama would do."

"Good idea."

Koga stood up from her spot on the hill and began walking towards the locker room. She opened the door just in time to see the captain's office door close. She shut the door behind her and walked to the back of the locker room, scrunching up her nose at the smell_. _Did these people know how to shower?

She opened the door to his office quietly, her breath stuck in her chest. Yukimura had collapsed onto the sofa, an arm thrown over his eyes as his chest heaved up and down. His left leg was stretched out, but his right leg was bent and trembling.

She walked inside, closing the door with just enough force to alert him of her presence. His motions were automatic—he sat up, his breathing evened, his injured leg stopped shaking.

"Chou?" He bent his other leg up along with the first to open a spot on the sofa.

She sat down by his feet, her hands going to his ankle. He tensed as she began to roll up the thick fabric of his sweatpants. She stopped when the fabric was above his knee, revealing the flushed and swollen skin that was there. She slid her fingers behind his knee, her thumbs resting on his knee cap, and he drew in a sharp breath. His skin was burning hot.

He had fallen on his knee earlier.

"You should wrap this if you're going to be stubborn and continue to practice," she said softly. "You'll just end up making it worse if you don't."

"I'm perfectly fine. Even if I wasn't, I need to finish practice and complaining about it won't make it any better. I just wanted a minute to sort my thoughts. I'll join you outside in a second."

She refused to move.

He moved his bent leg from side to side, knocking her hands off of his knee. He smiled gently at her, as though this was all a game, but she knew he was smiling so his face wouldn't show the pain. His knee had to have hurt earlier and moving it back and forth in an attempt to convince her he was fine must have been excruciating.

She caught his knee in a gentle grasp and his movements stopped. When she was certain he would stop acting like a child, she pulled her hands away.

"Where's a first aid kit?" she asked. He didn't respond. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it away from her determined eyes. "You can flirt and smile, but I'm not leaving until you wrap it."

Yukimura remembered something she had said to him after Finals— "When I think about it, about us, I just feel... I don't know." She had felt intimidated by him, like she wasn't as good as he was. He wondered if this newfound stubbornness was her way of proving that she was good enough. Another part of him remembered she was always like this—kind and caring towards everyone.

There was a moment of silence. Then, "Bottom left drawer."

Koga stood and retrieved the white box from the desk. She set it next to the computer, pulled out a roll of bandages and tape, and then returned to the sofa. She rolled his pants up once, twice more so she could wrap his knee properly. She wasn't an injuries expert, but she knew enough about anatomy to wrap a bandage that wouldn't restrict his knee movement.

As she began to undo the roll of bandages, she mumbled, "You can breathe normally around me. I won't tell anyone."

"I am breathing normally," he said as she pressed the first end of the bandage a few inches below his knee. "You should avoid the knee cap. I need to finish practice and won't be able to move if it's covered."

"I know." She hesitated before adding, "I mean it. I won't tell the others. So breathe normally. You're only human, you're allowed to be tired."

"I am breathing normally, Chou."

She tugged tightly on the bandage. He drew in another sharp breath. However, instead of a smooth exhale, it was shaky. She repeated the motion until he reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Alright." He let out a heavy breath, his chest rising a moment later as he sucked in a desperate gulp of air. "I'm breathing like an exhausted fool. Stop cutting off circulation to my foot. I happen to like my foot."

She smiled. "An exhausted fool with one foot would be pretty entertaining."

He returned her smile. "I like it when you make jokes."

Instead of turning red and mumbling not to tease her, she let her smile grow.

Finally, he let go of her wrist, allowing her to undo the last few wraps so they weren't painfully tight. He forgot about being perfect for a minute—his breath was ragged with exhaustion, and his leg betrayed him and jerked in pain whenever she touched his knee. He didn't have to be strong around her.

He lied down, his left leg stretching out, pressed between the side of her thigh and the sofa cushions. He closed his eyes, smiling occasionally when her fingers brushed a particularly ticklish spot.

Koga finished off the last of the small roll. She taped the bandage into place and then began to roll down his pant leg. When the fabric was back down to his ankle, she set the wrap and tape to the side on the sofa, and then gently folded her hands in her lap.

"Now you're breathing normally," she said with another gentle smile that he didn't see. "I should go back outside before Niou-senpai starts to assume things."

He said one word when she stood up to leave: "Stay."

He hadn't moved, hadn't even opened his eyes to look at her. She must have been imagining it. Yukimura Seiichi was not the type of person to ask someone to stay, even Koga knew that. Yet, for some reason, he had.

She sat back down on the sofa, her feet tapping silently against the ground. She had never been comfortable in silence. She would rather ramble like an idiot and embarrass herself than sit in silence. When she was with him, she felt calm in the silence.

.

They eventually did return to practice. Yukimura pushed himself to the limit but didn't let it show. Koga knew, though. She knew he would hide any pain or discomfort if it rallied the members. He was their fearless leader who could take on anything. He could not show weakness. He was the Child of God, but she saw him for what he really was, _human_.

When practice ended, Yukimura disappeared into the locker room, emerging fifteen minutes later, his hair slightly damp. He walked over to the hill, offered a hand to a smiling Koga, and helped her up. He kept their hands laced as they walked down the hill and towards the front gate.

"Do you want to study together?" she asked. "I have a test tomorrow and I don't have the arm muscles memorized yet. I keep getting the neck muscles confused."

"I would love to help, but I was planning on doing something." He felt a stab of guilt when her face fell. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to frown or apologize so he put on a fixed expression and said, "My mother."

"I understand." She smiled sweetly. "Just text me later, okay?"

He nodded. She looked around to see if anyone was watching. Once she realized no one was, she wrapped her arms around his midsection. One of his hands rested on the back of her head, fingers curling into her crazy hair, the other falling on her back. She was tiny and warm and gentle—the feeling made Yukimura hold onto her for a little while longer.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he promised. He pulled back just enough to place a kiss on her forehead. She smiled at him, let go of her grip on him, and walked away. She looked over her shoulder and waved. He waved, waiting until she disappeared around the corner to sigh. She really was too kind.

He headed in the opposite directions towards the trains. He took one into town and got off at the stop near Silly Lilies. He headed inside and spotted an middle aged woman wearing a bandana arranging a vase of roses; she was Hara, Koga's boss and an old acquaintance of Yukimura's. He approached the counter and they shared a pleasant smile.

"Koga-chan's off today, so why aren't you with her?" Hara asked.

"I'm going to see my mother's grave."

Hara nodded understandingly and asked, "The regular?"

"Yes, please."

He always bought a dozen pink tulips. Tulips had been his mother's favorite because they were simple, but beautiful. When Hara placed the bouquet of pink flowers on the counter, Yukimura reached for his wallet.

"No you don't," Hara said. She held out the bouquet and gave him a stern look a mother would give a son. "Take care of that girl, you hear me? She loves you more than the stars in the sky."

Yukimura took the bouquet and said, "I will, Hara-san."

"Good. Now get going. You don't want to be home too late or your father will be mad."

Yukimura left the store with his flowers and got back on the train. He stood despite the fact that there were multiple seats open. It was a habit of his that he hadn't been aware of until Yanagi pointed it out. Yanagi said it was probably a subconscious decision after his collapse, something about having lost his ability to walk making him hyper aware of being able to stand once he was cured. Yukimura didn't quite understand it, but he continued to smile and nod whenever Yanagi went off on an informational rant.

He got off the train and headed up a hill to the cemetery. The calmness was eerie. He hadn't come since the fall yet he still knew which paths to take and which stones popped up on the path. Soon, he found which gravestone he was looking for. He knelt down, placed the flowers in front of the gravestone, and folded his hands in his lap.

He wasn't quite sure where to start. The last few months had been a whirlwind of life. Between Emiko dating, tennis, his friends, Koga, and school, he could go on for hours. He started with the thing his mother would want him to, his sister.

He didn't know how to be a good brother for Emiko. He tried the best he could, but sometimes he felt as though he came up short. He promised his mother that he would protect his baby sister and he couldn't even tell her that he loved her. He was lost and had no one to guide him. He wouldn't let it show, though, the same way he wouldn't let his exhaustion show at practice.

Then he went to Sanada. His best friend, the one who had calmed him more times than he could recall, had hit a wall and Yukimura had not noticed. He had not wanted to notice. He had been ignorant and blind due to his fears. Fears that he pretended didn't exist, fears that he kept hidden. Very few knew of those fears—his family, Koga, Sanada, Yanagi, and probably Niou (even if he didn't let on). It was not his fault that Sanada lost his happiness. At the same time, it was all his fault.

Yanagi was another though on his mind. He was leaving for Italy soon and Yukimura was not sure who would be worse off from the change—Yanagi or Yukimura. Yanagi had few friends. Yukimura did not like change.

There was also Koga. Sweet and insecure, but strong. She always said what she needed to, accepted what life had handed her, and took care of others without thinking for herself; if that wasn't strength, Yukimura didn't know what was. He would hurt her one day, he knew that. Relationships had two outcomes—an end or forever. He did care for her, but forever? The concept was a puzzle to him. All he knew was that presently, he wasn't letting go of Koga Chou.

He had hurt so many people to protect himself. Everything he tried did nothing but leave holes inside of himself and others. He knew he had to try harder. For Emiko, and Koga, and Sanada, and everyone else who relied on him and cared for him. He would change those dark holes he had created by holding on and pushing through. That was the Yukimura way.

.

Yukimura went straight to his bedroom when he came home. He felt exhausted even though he had just sat for an hour. He always became tired after visiting his mother. It brought back memories of days long forgotten. Days of homemade cookies and trips to the botanical garden and soft singing. Despite that, just speaking freely without fear of judgement calmed him. It was a double edged sword sometimes.

He hummed the song his mother used to sing as he sat down on his bed. He pulled out his phone to see if he had any new messages. He had one form Koga, whose contact name he had changed to "Chou." Her message was short and to the point:

_r u ok?_

No one should be allowed to be this kind, Yukimura thought as he typed his response— _I'm fine_

Her response came seconds later— _u sure?_

_Yes thank you_

_:)_

Yukimura lied on his back, his head falling into the dip in his pillow. A strange feeling washed over him, one he hadn't felt since his mother had been alive. It was soft and fluttering, like a little butterfly was in his veins. He wasn't quite sure what to call it—safety, tranquility, love. Those words twisted in his gut and yanked at his lungs. He was not used to such simple things. Was he really that peculiar?

He typed one more message to Koga Chou— _Emiko told me you're making me brownie-cupcakes on Tuesday...?_

_w/ xtra M&Ms,_ she replied shortly.

Yukimura smiled.

* * *

**A/N: One, I have a tumblr. ****_Crazyfiasco_****. Follow me because I may at some point post stuff about this fic like random character profiles and pictures of what I think the characters look like. I'm working on Miyagi's.**

**Two, I don't have the next chapter written but it will happen eventually. I do have a new fic in the mean time, several in fact. _Seducing the Mushroom King_ is Hyotei with OCs and Hiyoshi and cheesy romance—enjoy. _Bite Me_ has vampires and eventual stuff I haven't planned out. Go read and review with feedback :)**

**Three, I have a head-cannon that Yukimura takes on the burdens of his team to repent for losing three years ago and that he pretends not to be tired during practice to motivate younger members. I also have a head-cannon that Niou thinks very highly of Yukimura and secretly paid for Yukimura's treatments (which is based off my head-cannon that Niou is rich, which I seem to write into every fic now). Do you have any interesting head-cannons?**

**Anonymous reviewer: Late response, sorry. Urayama is in one or two episodes of New Prince of Tennis very briefly. He never plays a major role, he's just there for some reason.**


	75. Chapter 75

**Chapter 75.**

Niou knew something was wrong with Yagyuu. The way he walked and talked was different. Niou had been studying Yagyuu's every move for their new formation and he noticed everything. Yagyuu seemed to jerk (just barely) when someone got too close. He rubbed his tired eyes one too many times. He wasn't acting normally.

Yagyuu saw Niou as an enigma. In junior high, Niou was cold and distant. Now Niou was warm (in a loose sense of the word) and more open. But the more Yagyuu studied Niou, the more of the old Niou he saw. They all knew Niou's secret and Niou acted different because of that, but he hadn't changed. Niou still kept everything close to his chest. Jokes and comments were out in the open, but his thoughts were still under lock and key, at least when they were important.

They were sitting on a bench watching Urayama, Oyama, and Kirihara struggle through their first practice back. In just one week they lost their edge. Oyama looked a little tired, Kirihara frustrated, and Urayama chaotic.

"Think they'll be okay in the tournament?" Niou asked.

"Why do you ask questions when you already have such a strong opinion on the subject?" Yagyuu responded with a sigh. He pushed up his glasses. "And as if you don't already know my answer."

"You like them more than I do. At least the first years. Kirihara—eh, he's a brat to both of us, but we like him for sentimental reasons I don't quite understand."

"Niou-kun," Yagyuu sighed. "Are you alright?"

Niou flicked his blue eyes to his partner. "Of course."

"They're not." Yagyuu looked at the two first years. Oyama was sneaking a piece of candy and Urayama was talking to some friends none of the regulars knew. "They think we'll treat them differently now that we know."

"Do you think the rest of the regulars would act differently if they knew your father drinks?" Niou said this softly, very softly. Yagyuu did not respond. "The answer's no, 'roshi. They didn't care who I am, they didn't care Sanada's depressed—"

"I care."

"You know what I meant. You care enough not to act differently, which is what he wants. Everyone on this team stays out of everyone's business unless it involves tennis, you know that."

"You're rather blunt today."

"I'm in a weird mood." Niou looked at Yagyuu again. "But completely okay."

"Of course." Yagyuu didn't sound convinced. A few years ago they may have been over to fool each other, but not now. "Naomi wants you to come by."

"Riko wants you to come by too. She's done her semester and is staying at home. It's annoying enough with her helping Kenji with his music by playing the piano, but now she won't stop nagging me. She's just like my mom."

"I like your mother."

"Because you two are annoying twins who love to nag me. Congrats."

"Niou-kun."

"Hiroshi. 'roshi. Broshi."

"No, Niou-kun, look."

Niou looked back at the courts. Urayama was smiling—completely alright. Niou didn't make a comment, but Yagyuu knew Niou was happy. His eyes raised just slightly when he was happy.

That was the last thing he needed, Niou being happy.

Yagyuu's list of Niou's traits was complete. They could start the formation just in time for Nationals.

.

Oyama and Urayama looked over at Niou and Yagyuu when Kirihara said Niou was acting weird. Kirihara pressed his hand to his face and groaned, "Don't look at the same time."

"He looks fine," Urayama said, then frowned. "He looks like he's thinking. I don't like it when he thinks."

"Why do you care?" Kirihara asked. "He never does anything to you."

"Marui-senpai complains when Niou-senpai does stuff. I don't get it. I think it's fun."

"What formation are you two helping Marui- and Jackal-senpai with?" Kirihara asked. He's tried to figure it out by himself, but he couldn't. He wished he was a lazy genius like Miyagi in times like this. But he figures that he'll learn soon enough at Nationals.

Urayama smiled playfully. Kirihara rolled his eyes and said, "Wanna hang out after practice? My sister is coming home 'cause her semester is over or whatever."

"You two still don't get along?" Oyama asked.

"Nope. So you guys wanna hang or what?"

"Can't," Urayama said. "Marui-senpai is going to help me pick out grip tape and Kenta is going to practice with Jackal-senpai."

Kirihara looked distressed, but forced a big, fake smile. "That's cool. Maybe I'll call Hiyoshi or something and see if he wants to come from Tokyo and play a match."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Kirihara was lying, but Oyama didn't say anything and Urayama didn't notice.

.

When Urayama and Oyama walked through the locker room to the regulars' lockers, all eyes were on them. Hayashi smiled, more nervous than kind, and Urayama nodded back, just as awkward. Obviously they had been the talk of the club for the time that they were gone.

"I wonder how crazy the rumors got," Urayama said as he opened his locker. "You think they said you killed anyone again?"

"Probably."

Urayama smiled and his tension seemed to disappear. They were back where they belonged and everything was back to normal.

"The tournament schedule is supposed to come in tomorrow," Yukimura mentioned. "I'll contact all of you once I get it."

"I really hope we face Seigaku again," Jackal said. "I want revenge."

"It won't be revenge without Oishi playing," Marui said. "If anything, I'd rather play Shishido and Ohtori and end this whose the best thing once and for all."

"You are the best doubles pair, though," Urayama said. "Everyone says so."

"But we've never played Shishido and Ohtori so no one knows for sure," Jackal said.

"I want Hyotei too," Kirihara said. "I want to play Hiyoshi. He has this awesome new defensive style."

"With our luck Seigaku will beat them before we get to," Jackal said. "That happens almost every year."

"And this year they have Echizen," Yagyuu added.

But he can't play, Urayama thought. He didn't say that out loud, though. He told Tooyama he wouldn't say anything and its not like keeping it a secret hurt anyone.

"We will win, the teams do not matter," Sanada said.

"Still, Hyotei would be fun," Kirihara said.

"Akaya, don't antagonize Genchirou," Yukimura warned.

Marui snickered, Jackal smiled, and Niou changed his voice to match Kirihara's, "But Sanada-fukubuchou has hat hair."

"Niou-senpai said that," Kirihara said hurriedly. "It wasn't me!"

Yes, everything was back to normal.

.

Urayama had always liked Marui. Since junior high, Urayama had respected Marui's tennis style and his way of handling the world. While most people saw Marui as cocky and strange, Urayama saw him as someone who knew who he was and where he wanted to go. Urayama admired that and that is why Urayama took on Marui's move, because he wanted to go somewhere too.

On their way to X-treme, Marui spotted a row of vending machines by a small public park. Urayama had passed it a few times, but never gave the place much attention.

"Hey, Urayama, wait for a minute while I get some gum," Marui said. He ran off to the vending machines before Urayama could protest.

With a sigh, Urayama walked up the stairs to the park to wander in search of a tennis court. He always liked to break in grip tape and he had no idea where the nearest courts were.

Urayama hadn't realized where he was walking until he bumped straight into someone. He turned, expecting a man on his cellphone or a woman walking a dog. Instead he saw a short black girl with wild curly hair and copper eyes. She was wearing teal pants, a black t-shirt with an obscure band name, and a button-covered messenger bag. She grabbed onto his arm so she didn't stumble.

"Sorry," Urayama said, "I wasn't watching where I was looking."

The girl's eyes lingered on the arm she was holding, then flicked to his face. "Oh, it's fine! Are you Urayama Shiita by chance?"

She let go of his arm and began to rummage in her messenger bag.

"Um, that's me. Do I know you?" Urayama asked. "Are you in my math class?"

"Huh? No, I'm not from around here. I'm just here for the concert. Although, I am coming back for the tournament in a week."

She pulled out a black notebook with different colored flags sticking out the edge, as if multiple flags were attached to each page. She began to skim through the pages.

"What tournament?"

"The National Tennis Tournament."

"But you're a girl...right?"

She smiled like someone with a secret, then flipped the book open and turned it so Urayama could see. The page had handwritten stats and notes as well as clippings from articles and images. She had pointed to things and crossed others out; in some places she had drawn lines to connect things.

"Uh," Urayama said because no other words came out.

"The pictures of you have always been bad," she said, looking at his arms again, "but apparently they're accurate."

She pressed her eyebrows together like she as confused about something, then looked at his legs. She frowned when she saw he was wearing his uniform pants.

From out of nowhere, someone shouted, "Yoshi!"

The girl turned towards a boy who was approaching. His light brown hair was styled into dreadlocks which were pulled up by a ponytail; despite that, the end of his hair reached his shoulder blades.

Longer than Kenta's, Urayama thought.

The boy with dreadlocks walked over towards the black girl with the book and ruffled her hair. She ducked away and held out her hand.

The boy frowned and said, "Come on, Yoshi, I'm just teasing."

"That's not my name," she said.

"I know, I know," he sighed and put a small pack of peanut M&Ms in her palm.

The boy turned his focus to Urayama. A charming smile spread over the boy's face as he held out his hand. Urayama took it hesitantly.

"Hello there," the boy said. "Who might you be?"

"Urayama Shiita," the girl said.

The boy looked at the girl in exasperation, then looked back at Urayama, smile back in place. "I'm Matsuo Akemi. You must be quite the tennis player for Yoshi to know you. I like that."

Urayama felt uncomfortable beyond explanation.

But then he was saved. Marui jogged into view and headed towards Urayama.

"You're late, Senpai," Urayama said.

"I went to get my gum," Marui said, eyeing Matsuo, "but this guy was trying to get my number at the vending machines."

"That offer still stands," Matsuo said.

Marui blew a bubble with a practiced look of boredom.

The girl stared at Marui, looking more uncomfortable than Urayama had moments ago. She was staring at Marui's arms the same way she was Urayama's. She clutched at her little book.

"Matsuo, let's go," the girl said said.

"What? Why? The concert isn't for another few hours. I want to look around."

"Let's go."

She grabbed onto Matsuo's wrist and began to tug him away. It was futile for awhile—Matsuo was bigger and stronger—but eventually Matsuo gave in and followed her. Soon they were out of sight.

Marui looked at Urayama. "You know them?"

Urayama shook his head. "No. I don't even know her name."

"She's cute."

"Senpai!" Marui shrugged. After a moment of pause, Urayama asked, "Marui-senpai, girls can't play in Nationals, can they?"

"What? No. That's ridiculous. Come on Ice-cream-head, let's go get that grip tape. The kind you're using now will not hold up at Nationals."

Marui began to walk away so Urayama followed, already forgetting about the boy with the dreadlocks and the girl with the book.

.

Jackal and Oyama headed for the local courts after practice. The courts were always busy after school so it was no surprise to either boy when they could only find a bench to sit on.

"A court should open up soon," Jackal said.

"I know," Oyama replied.

Jackal tapped his feet, unsure of what else to say. Oyama was not much of a talker. He watched the two young boys on the nearest court. They were twelve, probably younger, and absolutely horrible, but they were having fun. It reminded him of how he and Marui used to be—clueless and horrible.

Although, they both did have a natural affinity for tennis, so maybe _horrible_ wasn't the right term. But they were nothing compared to what they were now.

Jackal looked at Oyama, struck by a thought.

"How did you become partners with Urayama?" Jackal asked. "You two are polar opposites. I don't get it."

"How did you become partners with Marui-senpai?"

Jackal said, "We were first years in junior high. We were running laps until we literally couldn't because the captain wanted to figure out our base stamina level. I was on my thirtieth lap or something like that when I tripped. I looked to see what I had tripped on and saw Bunta curled up in a fetal position."

Jackal laughed, "I had to take him to the nurse. We just ended up talking and went to Sweet Treats afterwards. It was the only time he paid. We just became friends and found out we complemented each out in tennis."

Oyama hummed as if he found that interesting.

"So," Jackal began, "how'd you and Urayama become partners?"

"Shiita didn't like tennis at first. He preferred to run. It keeps him sane and he's fast, too, so he can run away. I was the one who liked tennis. My dad and I played it on his days off. I asked Shiita to play with me and he did."

"That's it? You just asked."

"He figured out he liked it so we stuck with it. He thinks it's fun."

"Do you think it's fun?"

Oyama was silent for a moment. "I guess it is."

"Don't forget that." Jackal smiled and shook his head. "Aren't we supposed to be thinking of a new move? Every time Bunta and I try to think of something, we end up talking about stupid crap like this."

Jackal suddenly remembered a conversation Marui and he had at Comet Café a few weeks ago. Just a normal conversation, but it sprang to mind for some reason.

_"I mean, maybe you don't need a move," Marui said. "Doubles is like getting two face cards in blackjack; sometimes you need that ace, and sometimes you don't. It all depends on the dealer's hand."_

_"But you can't see the dealer's hand."_

_"And that's where luck comes in. Or a pocket ace. One or the other."_

Jackal turned his head away from the courts to look at Oyama. The taller boy returned the look, a hint of curiosity in his dark eyes.

"What?" Oyama asked.

Jackal smiled. "I know what my new move is."

* * *

**A/N: I've decided I'd rather have short chapters than long chapters with bad fillers. I'm sure you all understand.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR.**

**I mentioned this in the A/N of the last chapter but I have a tumblr. It's **crazyfiasco**. Follow me because I will be posting stuff about this story in-between a bunch of other stuff (sorry, it's not a blog only for this). I already have some facts about Miyagi. If you don't have a tumblr, link to his stuff is on my profile. Warning: slight spoilers considering I know the ending of the fic and you guys don't, but it's nothing huge.**


	76. Chapter 76

**Chapter 76.**

Practice was brutal; it always was the weeks preceding Nationals. The rest of the club sat in the stands most days watching Yukimura fix the minor flaws of his teammates, who ran and played and nearly fell in exhaustion. The other sports teams all knew not to so much as run near the tennis courts or they would be smitten down by Sanada.

By the time the regulars were done showering, all of the other club members had cleared out.

"Akaya, we're going to Sweet Treats, wanna come? They have new strawberry-lemonade and are giving it our for free," Jackal said at the end of practice. He gestured to Marui, Niou, and Yagyuu, who Kirihara assumed made up "we."

The answer was a loud "YES" that resonated throughout the Earth, but what came out of his mouth was, "I can't. My sister's fiancé is coming over for dinner and if I miss it I'll be grounded through Nationals."

"Don't get grounded," Yukimura said sternly. "And no getting sick either."

"You made Jackal and me play with strep," Marui said looking slightly offended. "I was coughing the entire match. I nearly choked on my gum!"

"That was one case," Yukimura replied. "Besides, now we have Urayama-kun and Oyama-kun if anyone gets sick."

Marui grumbled and blew a bubble.

"Maybe tomorrow, Akaya?" Jackal asked.

"Yeah. Maybe."

Kirihara closed his locker and left the room, walking slowly to the trains. He usually had time to catch a train, but if he missed it he'd after to wait another half an hour. That extra half hour might keep him sane enough to make it through the night with his family.

His father had a short temper just as bad as his, his mother was raised to expect nothing less than perfection, and his older sister was hard to live up to. He had many happy memories from his childhood, but those did not make the bad memories any better. He and his parents usually got along, but when his sister entered the picture, everything changed. Compared to his sister, he was a waste of space.

He "missed" his train and waited for the next one, even if his mother would grumble about him being late. He was late all the time, he was used to it.

He headed up to the apartment and saw an extra pair of shoes. When he entered the living room, he saw his sister and her fiancé sitting on the sofa like a couple out of an orange juice commercial. His horrible older sister actually looked happy with that guy. Ew.

"Akaya," his mother said, "you're late."

"Sorry, Mom."

"This is—" Kirihara shook his sister's fiancé's hand, not catching his name. He would probably just fumble over it anyways. He was too tired from practice to learn new names and practice his pronunciation at the dinner table.

.

Kirihara set the dinner table and piles his mother's best food onto his plate. The small talk was casual at first—what season for the wedding, wedding party size, his mother gushing over the idea of grandchildren—but then it took a turn for the worse. His sister's fiancé had mentioned an upcoming job promotion and that was the start of the end.

"What about you, Akaya?" his sister's fiancé asked. "What are you plans for the future? University, maybe? I heard you're a good tennis player, maybe you can get a scholarship to make up for your grades."

Kirihara nearly dropped his chopsticks. "My grades are average and I test well, so—"

"If you tested well, you wouldn't have such a low GPA," his sister said.

"That weird boy you are always with is smart, isn't he?" his mother asked.

"Doesn't seem like it," his father muttered. "Strange kid. He's not right in the head."

"Well," his mother continued, "if he is smart, you should let him tutor you. Tennis can't take you everywhere, you know. Besides, you need English if you want to go into tennis, especially in America, and we all know your English grade is deplorable."

"I've brought it up," Kirihara interjected. "I'm nearly fluent—"

"But you can't respond in it," his sister said. "What's the point of understanding a language if you can't speak it?"

Kirihara poked at the hardly touched food on his plate. He blocked out their conversation and focused on other things. Tennis practice tomorrow morning, math quiz after lunch, tennis practice again in the afternoon, then he'd come home. Maybe he could ask the guys again, see if they wanted to hang out.

"...no potential."

Kirihara looked at his mother. "What?"

"You don't even listen!" his mother said, as if that proved whatever point she just made.

"She said," his sister began, smiling wickedly, "she doesn't understand why you're on the tennis team. You're not even that good at tennis. You have no real potential."

School was one thing, tennis was another.

"How would you know?" Kirihara slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "You haven't seen me play tennis since I was eight! You never come to my tournaments, not even when I was captain and singles-one in the Finals at Nationals!"

"Well why would I? You would win or lose. I didn't need to be there to see it."

"Calm down, son," his father scolded. "The neighbors are going to hear. We don't need them talking about you anymore than they already do."

"They say he's a demon," his sister said, leaning towards her fiancé.

"Son, sit down," his mother ordered. "The neighbors—"

"I DON'T CARE!"

Kirihara was going to scream—more than he already was. He stormed towards the front door.

"Akaya, get back here!" his mother demanded.

"Let the idiot go," his sister said.

Kirihara picked up his shoes, tennis bag, and his keys.

"Don't bother coming back!" his father roared.

He left.

The door slammed behind him. As he walked through the apartment complex in his socks, doors opened and curious rubberneckers stuck their heads out. Women whispered as he walked back and a few young children peered out windows, scared but curious.

He had no intentions of coming back.

.

He tugged on his shoes after five minutes on the streets. He had left his wallet so he didn't have a bus card or money for the trains, but he had his feet. He ran as fast as he would, as far as he could, for as long as he could stand it. He finally understood why Urayama liked to run when faced with problems.

It took awhile, but eventually he made it to familiar ground, the tennis courts he used to meet An at. He didn't think of going to Tanaka's or Miyagi's or Urayama's or anyone else's place. This just felt right, walking up the stairs and feeling the hard ground of a court under his feet.

Kirihara walked to a brick wall and dropped his things. He pulled out a single play and his racquet, and hit the ball against the wall again and again and again.

His sister's mocking words. Smack.

Those jerks who hurt Urayama. _Smack_.

Everything in the whole damn world. _SMACK_.

The ball flew over his head and into the buses. Kirihara cursed and tossed his racquet to the ground. He collapsed to his knees, exhausted, and wished it wasn't like this. Things used to be better, simpler. When did things change?

.

It wasn't always like this;_ he _wasn't always like this. It started when the third years went into high school and left Kirihara alone. They barely talked to him, like they had only been his friend because he was on the team. A text here or there, maybe a random appearance at practice or tournament, but that was it. Everything his parents said about those "good for nothing senpai" was true.

There are people who are your friend because it suits them at the time, but when push comes to shove, they're not there.

It scared him to think about how it would be after they graduate. Yanagi was going to Italy—_Italy_, which was so damn far away it hurt Kirihara's brain. Everyone else was staying in Japan, but they were still so far away. Most of them were going to Rikkaidai University, but Kirihara had the feeling that wouldn't matter. They would be gone again and it would be just like last time.

He was the junior ace, the one who was left behind to linger in the shadow of the Glory Days.

He eventually calmed and slid up against the brick wall, his headphones jammed so tightly into his ears they hurt. One of the street lights flickered causing colors to flicker behind his closed eyes—black, red, orange, black again.

Over the music, he could hear someone shouting. He turned down the volume, wondering if someone needed help. All he saw was a girl.

An knelt down in front of Kirihara and plucked the headphone from his right ear. She stuck it into hers, giving him a strange look.

"Why are you listening to this?" she asked. "You hate them."

"Zaizen got me to listen to them." He returned her strange look. "Why are you here?"

"Hell if I know." She rolled her eyes when he looked confused. "Your parents got worried and called Yukimura, who apparently got his girlfriend to call Tanaka, who called me. Or something. Again, hell if I know."

"They're not worried," Kirihara muttered. "My parents are never worried."

"Was the fight bad?"

"My parents told Yukimura we had a fight?" The thought alone almost made him throw up. Everyone knew he disliked his family and outright hated his sister, but only Tanaka, Miyagi, and An knew why.

"No, I just figured. You ran away how many times when we were dating?"

"Twelve."

"Okay. Twelve times." An blinked, surprised, because Kirihara sounded dead serious and sure about that number. "Was it bad?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not going to tell me why."

"No."

"I figured." She actually sat down, taking and turning off Kirihara's ipod. "Everyone is out looking for you. They're worried."

"So worried you've been crying?" An stared at him. Kirihara pointed under his eye and said, "Your eyes get all puffy. Why were you crying?"

"Because I was worried, obviously."

Sarcasm. Great.

"An, just go. I'm not in the mood. I want to be alone."

Honestly, he wasn't sure what he wanted anymore.

Kirihara felt An's legs against his.

"I was crying," she admitted. "Takeshi was with me when Tanaka called and he wanted to come help find you."

"I doubt that."

"He did, but I didn't want him to. I figured you fought with your parents and, well, Takeshi would have seen you at your worst. I didn't think you would want that."

Kirihara snorted, "Like I would care," but he would. Rikkaidai did not show weakness, on or off the court. Yet here he was hiding from mommy and daddy like an insolent child all because he couldn't stand his older sister's taunting words.

An made a face at him—kind of goofy and all scrunched up, the kind you give a baby when trying to make it laugh. Kirihara smiled.

"So why crying?" he asked.

"He got really mad because I wouldn't explain why he couldn't go. He thought I was cheating on him. I said things and he said things and—" She stopped, then smiled at Kirihara. "He said it was over so I just left. I figured you'd come here."

Kirihara looked at her—really looked, for the first time in a long time—and brushed a strand of long hair behind her ear. He really did like her long hair. It looked more grown-up, prettier, even with those plastic clips in it.

His hand slid into her hair and he forgot about his family for a brief moment.

"Akaya," she said, "Takeshi was just mad. He'll call to apologize any minute."

"So? Right now you're not with him. I can't be the bad guy who made you cheat."

She was like him, that was always why he liked her. He tried to take down three monsters and she tried to escape the darkness of her brother's shadow. Always compared to others, never quite themselves, always quick to toss a joke to protect themselves from some pain.

Apart they were whispers compared to the screams they so desperately wanted to reach, to be, to outshine.

But together they were _more_.

"An—"

"Akaya—"

She kissed him before he could kiss her.

Girls always knew how to describe a kiss—tender, deep, slow, sensual, hot. Heat, lips, and tongue were what he knew. Kirihara knew a kiss was a kiss, and this was a good kiss. For awhile, at least.

As An shifted closer, her hand finding his hair and his finding her curved hip, Kirihara felt something weird. His fingers twisted in her hair because she was finally his and he could, but it didn't feel like it used to. Her hand clutching the front of his shirt didn't feel comforting like it used to.

Something wasn't right. It wasn't _more_ like it used to be.

Kirihara pulled back.

An smiled nervously and asked, "What?"

"It's like—" Kirihara frowned. He didn't know what it was. "It's feels like I'm kissing Miho."

"You've kissed Tanaka?"

"No, but you know in _Back to the Future_ when that guy's mom kisses him and she just gets this weird feeling? It's like that."

"What?" An finally pulled her hand from Kirihara's curls.

"It's not the same."

And then it hit Kirihara like a tennis ball to the head. He didn't feel anything special when she laughed. He didn't have dreams about her. He only had inside jokes with her, no secret kisses, no secret feelings. After saying it so many times, it finally came true.

Kirihara only thought of her as a friend.

"Shit," Kirihara cursed. He repeated the word four more times before An put a hand on his cheek to stop him. She leaned forward to kiss his dirty mouth. Her lips smudged against his.

He turned his head away. This felt wrong.

"An," he croaked. He didn't want to say it. He wanted to like her, to love her like he used to because he was happy then. He wanted his heart to be lying, but it wasn't. "An, I don't—I can't."

"But you like me." She sounded hurt. Kirihara wouldn't put it past her to slap him. "Everyone says you like me, that I shouldn't be around you because you're still crazy about me. I've seen the way you look at me. You like me, right, Akaya?"

Kirihara cast his head downward. He didn't know what to feel anymore.

"Why don't you like me?"

"I do," he answered hurriedly. He didn't lift his head to look at her. "I just... I don't like you like that. I can say I love you, but it's not the same love I felt for you before. It's not you, it's me."

Kirihara closed his eyes, expecting the worst. That was not the right thing to say but it had just come out.

His words hung in the air.

"That's the worst breakup line ever," An said.

"We're not together."

"We were once."

"And we were happy. Then you ended it." Kirihara stared at her. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't love Momoshiro."

She looked at the courts.

"You're hurt, An, and you don't like me. You ran away from our relationship. Don't do that to Momoshiro."

"Akaya—"

"I don't want you, An, so leave me alone."

It came out colder than he meant it to, but he did mean it. He didn't want her around. If his heart suddenly decided to change its mind, it would only end in trouble. That's all he and An ever were—trouble.

An said something, he didn't listen, and then stood. He listened to her jog away for the last time. When he looked, he saw dark spots between them from her tears.

Kirihara sat on the courts alone.

.

"Come on, brat."

Kirihara looked up and saw Niou standing directly in front of him. Niou was wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt, like he had been asleep. He probably had been when he got the call from Yukimura. Kirihara still didn't believe that his parents gave a damn that he was missing.

"I don't want to go home," Kirihara said. "Just let me stay here."

Niou reached down, grabbed a fistful of Kirihara's shirt, and tugged him to his feet. Kirihara followed obediently, too tired to fight, and sat in the front seat of Niou's car. It wasn't until then that he realized how cold he had been. His skin was bumped from sitting outside at night for several hours. Time was blurring together.

When he looked at the time—2:34am—his stomach rumbled.

Niou turned on the music and drove.

Kirihara didn't expect them to go to Tokyo, let alone a McDonald's. Niou got out of the car, heading for the restaurant, and Kirihara followed. The car beeped behind them. There was no one else in the store except for the workers who were sitting around. Niou looked at Kirihara, who realized he was supposed to order.

"Uh, I don't have any money," Kirihara said dumbly. He hadn't taken his wallet with him.

"Puri." Niou rolled his eyes. "Just order."

Kirihara did, then proceeded to follow Niou to a booth. Kirihara stared at his burger and fries, paid for by Niou who was dipping fries into a strawberry milkshake. It became clear to Kirihara that Niou was trying to be nice. There was no one telling Niou to pay for his meal, no one telling him to stay out of Kirihara's business, no one telling him to care.

Kirihara turned in the booth and stretched out his legs; he finally unwrapped his meal.

"Niou-senpai," Kirihara said after a few bites of his burger, "have you ever liked a girl?"

Niou chewed on his fries, his blue eyes boring so deep into Kirihara that the younger boy thought his mind was being read. But Kirihara's known that's not true since his second year in junior high. (He was unsure his first year because Niou freaked him out more then than he does now.)

"I'm not gay," Niou said.

That doesn't answer the question, Kirihara thought. Then he really looked at Niou. The Trickster didn't want to talk about something. Maybe there was one girl, one special girl, who got inside his heart.

"You know An?"

"Tachibana's little sister?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

"I don't know."

Kirihara returned to stuffing his mouth with greasy food. Niou turned his fry container towards Kirihara. Kirihara took them and inhaled them.

A little too late Kirihara realized he should eat slower because after this Niou was going to take him home. His father would yell, his mother would shake her head in a way that made Kirihara feel so little, and his sister would taunt him in the morning. He felt sick.

"Come on," Niou said, standing, "and don't puke in my car or I will hurt you."

Kirihara had no doubt about that.

Kirihara sat in the seat and felt his stomach ease as Niou drove. "Niou-senpai, I don't live here."

"I'm not driving to hell and back for you at three in the morning. My life does not revolve around you, Akaya."

Soon Niou's mansion was in sight. Once they got past the gate, it took another few minutes for Niou to drive up to his house. Kirihara followed him inside, up the stairs, and down the halls to what he assumed was a guest room. When Niou opened the door, someone said, "Masa, what the hell?"

Kirihara saw a pretty girl. She was wearing Hyotei sweatpants and a tank top. He knew it was Niou's sister, but he couldn't remember her name.

"He's staying the night, I already asked Dad," Niou said. Niou's sister nodded and headed back the way she came to her room. They could hear her say, "Nothing, Ken, go back to sleep."

Despite all the crap Niou talked about his family, Kirihara was jealous. Niou's family liked each other; Urayama's was the same. Kirihara didn't understand it.

Niou showed Kirihara the bathroom, which was right there and Kirihara replied that he wasn't_ that _stupid, then left. Kirihara was alone again.

For such a big house, it sure was quiet. So quiet he could hear Niou calling someone from the hall.

"He's fine," Niou muttered. "How the hell should I know?"

Who was he talking to?

"I have to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to take him back tomorrow so he can get his books for school. I am _not_ being his therapist. If you want to talk to him about his feelings, you can come down here and talk to him yourself, Yukimura."

Kirihara stopped listening. He stripped out of his clothes except for his underwear and crawled under the sheets. He fell asleep quiet easily despite what had happened. Maybe that meant something, maybe it didn't.

* * *

**A/N: I would not have written this chapter like this several months ago. I don't know why I decided to do this, but I did. It just seemed... ****_right._**** I can't explain it. **


	77. Chapter 77

**Chapter 77.**

Kirihara did not get the chance to meet Niou's family. They left for Kirihara's apartment before the sun had even risen to get an early train. Kirihara managed to sneak into his room and grab a new uniform and his school bag without disturbing anyone. If anyone had heard him—he did stub his toe twice—they did not come to see him.

Niou was not happy that Kirihara made them stop at a local store to change in the bathroom. Afterwards, with time to spare, they slipped into the McDonalds near the high school. Halfway through their meal (Kirihara paid this time), Niou twisted his head to the door.

"It's completely normal!" Suzuki shouted.

"It's not normal!" Marui argued. He walked over towards the table Niou and Kirihara were at and asked, "Is it normal to fall asleep in your towel after a shower?"

"_Yes_," Suzuki said.

"Yeah," Kirihara said.

"I guess," Niou said.

"What the hell is wrong with you people?" Marui asked. He sighed, then looked at Kirihara. "Way to scare the crap out of all of us."

"Um, I'm going to order," Suzuki said. "I'll get your stuff, Bunta."

Marui rattled off his order then sat down next to Niou. "Seriously, Akaya, what the hell? Did you run away from home or something?"

"I'll go back eventually," Kirihara said.

"Uh-huh," Marui replied. "This have anything to do with a girl?"

"What? No."

"Because you haven't run away since you broke up with Tachibana's little sister."

"It's got nothing to do with her," Kirihara said. He looked at the counter to see where Suzuki was, then back at his senpai. "But if Momoshiro tries to kill me for no reason whatsoever, please help me hide."

"What did you do, Akaya?" Marui asked.

"_Nothing_."

He had only fallen for his ex who had a new boyfriend. Then, when everything went to hell, he went and kissed her only to realize he didn't love her. For all he knew, An and Momoshiro weren't officially broken up when they kissed. Depending on how you looked at it, he was the hero who lost the girl or the scumbag villain.

Kirihara sunk down into the booth and grabbed his soda. The grease in his stomach seemed five times more disgusting that it had ten minutes ago.

Suzuki slid into the booth next to Kirihara, separating the contents of the tray to two different sides.

"Your heart-attack-in-a-cup," Suzuki said, sliding Marui his coffee.

"Where's my ketchup?" Marui asked, frowning.

"Get your own damn ketchup."

.

Kirihara pushed his problems out of his mind. Tanaka and Miyagi kept him entertained throughout the school day and he kicked butt at serving practice in the afternoon. No one pestered him about last night's events, either because they simply did not care or because they knew he wouldn't talk about it. Kirihara figured the reason depended on the person.

He met Tanaka and Miyagi at the library where they were studying. Tanaka hugged his arm as they began to walk and squeezed so tightly he couldn't wiggle free.

"We decided that we're going out to eat and you're telling us what the hell happened," Tanaka said very matter-of-factly in her drama voice, giving him no room to argue. "There's that diner right next to X-treme. That way if you try to run away, we go steal paint guns from Captain Pretty Boy and hunt you down."

"You guys really thought this through," Kirihara sighed as Tanaka walked him towards the trains.

"She did, I just agreed and nodded," Miyagi said.

A quick train ride later and they were in town. Kirihara tried to remember the last time the three of them were together for no reason other than to be together. It certainly was the first time in awhile.

The diner was run down and looked like it came out of an American 50's movie. It smelled like burgers and fries and grease, and it made Kirihara's stomach rumble.

Miyagi ordered chicken tenders on a stick (because apparently that's a thing) while Kirihara and Tanaka got burgers. Add in three chocolate milkshakes and then they were sitting at a booth, Miyagi staring at Tanaka and Kirihara who sat on the other side.

"So?" Miyagi asked, a chicken tender on a stick dunked half way into his milkshake. "Your parents just yell at you or something?"

"Yeah, but then I went to the tennis courts," Kirihara said.

"I knew we should have looked there," Tanaka muttered.

"Well, An did. She found me and she had been crying and I don't really know what happened. She told me that she broke up with Momoshiro, only they didn't really break up, but they did, and the whole thing was just a big mess."

"So what happened that got you in this funk?" Miyagi asked. He was eating a chicken tender covered in milkshake. Kirihara had seen him eat some weird things, including worms when they were kids, but that was just weird. French fries were one thing, but chicken tenders?

Kirihara stared at him. "Satoshi, what is wrong with you?"

Miyagi shrugged. "Don't mock it 'til you try it."

"Come on, Akaya," Tanaka said, nudging him. "What happened?"

"We were just talking and we just—I don't know, Miho. I was tired and still pissed; she was crying and upset and worried."

"What. Happened?"

Kirihara sighed, "She kissed me. Or I kissed her." Another sigh. "We kissed."

Tanaka smiled and excitedly asked, "What was it like?"

Kirihara frowned and looked at Miyagi for guidance. His friend shrugged. Kirihara said, "It was a kiss."

"What is long or short? Strong, gentle, deep? Did you just kind of sink into it?"

"Are you asking if there was tongue? Because there was tongue."

Tanaka cringed and Kirihara looked at Miyagi who said, "_Nice_."

"Forget the kiss. Just keep talking," Tanaka said.

"Well, we kissed and I kinda told her to go away."

"That bad?" Miyagi asked. He whistled. "Sorry, that sucks."

"No, it was good, just... I don't know. I don't think I like her."

Kirihara shrugged, unable to think of the words. Miyagi would understand, hopefully, but Tanaka would probably be confused for quite some time. When Kirihara looked at Tanaka, she seemed panicked, not confused.

"It's not the end of the world, is it?" Kirihara laughed.

Tanaka shoved on his shoulder. "OW!" Kirihara hissed. She pressed harder, digging her nails in until he screeched, and shoved him under the table.

"Tachibana's here with—oh, is that Momoshiro?" Tanaka muttered. "There's two boys. Wow, what a—"

"Are you kidding me?" Kirihara hissed from under the table. He felt like he was in a bad movie. Of course An would show up. That was just his luck.

"One has red hair and the other has blue hair," Tanaka said.

"Kamio and Ibu," Miyagi said. He held a thumbs-up under the table for Kirihara to see. "I got your back, bro."

"Shut up," Kirihara hissed. "I'm not here. Wait. Why isn't Momoshiro with them?"

"You don't think she told Momoshiro, did you?" Tanaka asked. The three Fudomine tennis players went to the counter to order, laughing and talking.

"We're next to X-treme," Kirihara said miserably. "They have the best tennis stuff because Yukimura-buchou helps with the shipping orders. It's worth the trip from Tokyo."

"Uh, Akaya," Miyagi said. "She's coming over."

Kirihara felt a moment of blind panic. He knew he would have to eventually see her again, but not so soon, not in front of their friends, not right before Nationals.

An stopped at the end of the table. "What are you two doing here without Akaya? I thought you two we're fighting."

"We got over it," Tanaka said.

"For an actress you're a really bad liar."

"Fine, you caught us. We're on a date," Tanaka said. She reached across the table and grabbed Miyagi's hand. "Love birds. You know how it is, don't you, Tachibana-chan?"

"I can see him under the table," An said.

Tanaka smiled. "He's in a meeting."

An squatted. Kirihara looked like a deer in a headlight, but he managed to wave awkwardly. He was too tall to be crammed under the table and his hair was close to being covered in gum. He saw her and his stomach cramped, but it was out of fear, not love.

"Hey, An," he said. "Kinda in a meeting right now."

"And I'm in a hot air balloon."

"That sounds fun."

An looked over her shoulder at her friends, who were watching the scene with interest from their table, then back at Kirihara. "Takeshi doesn't know. He won't know. Understood?"

"Yeah." An made to stand up, but Kirihara grabbed her ankle. She squatted again and he said, "I'm sorry."

"I am too."

An stood up and left their table, sitting down with Kamio and Ibu on the other side of the diner. Kirihara crawled back into his seat and poked at his food.

"I'm the bad guy in this situation, aren't I?" Kirihara asked.

"Yup," Miyagi said.

"Kind of," Tanaka said.

Kirihara sighed, "Damn it."

.

An, Ibu, and Kamio ended up leaving before the Rikkaidai trio, who were too busy trying chicken tenders dipped in chocolate milkshakes. Kirihara watched as An left, but she didn't look at him. She walked with her shoulders squared and head high, like she was on top of the world. It made Kirihara wonder if she had told Kamio and Ibu.

"You okay?" Tanaka asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kirihara replied.

Eventually Tanaka, Miyagi, and Kirihara left the diner.

"So what do you guys want to do now?" Tanaka asked.

"I gotta go or my mom's gonna get pissed," Miyagi said. He clapped a hand on Kirihara's shoulder. "Text me if you need anything."

He smiled like the world was perfect and jogged off. Tanaka shook her head as they watched him disappear into the crowds.

"He is impossible," she muttered.

"Yup," Kirihara agreed. "I think I should be heading out too."

Tanaka looked at Kirihara with a look that was half pity, half concern, then asked, "Where are you going?"

Kirihara shrugged. "I don't know. Anywhere. Nowhere."

Tanaka tugged Kirihara into her arms and after a few seconds, he wrapped his arms around her. He wasn't a hug-type of person, not in the least, but he felt a little better just knowing that someone cared enough to hug him.

"We're all just kids who grow up too fast," Tanaka murmured. She tugged away so they were only loosely hugging and smiled up at him. "And you know what? One day, you'll find a big kid like you, someone who is going nowhere, and you'll go there together."

"Maybe."

"And if you don't find them," Tanaka said, "who the hell cares? Fuck everyone."

"You're going to regret those words when I start screwing everyone in sight."

Tanaka had to pull away so she could double over in laughter. He joined her because he needed to laugh. This whole situation was stupid if he thought about it—he was seventeen and his only love was tennis, not some girl. The world would spin on regardless of his pointless teenage angst.

"Do you want to spend the night at my place?" Tanaka asked. "I doubt you want to go home after a huge fight with your parents. I wouldn't."

"I'm fine."

"You know my doors are always open."

"I'm fine," he repeated. "I can't run away forever. Look where it's gotten me so far. Time to man up."

"And when in doubt, hakuna matata."

"Hakuna matata?"

"It means no worries for the rest of your days."

Kirihara dropped his head, smiling, then looked at her with lighter eyes, like a few of his problems had already disappeared. "Yeah, maybe I'll try that."

"See you later, Akaya. Call me if you need me. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll see you later."

She shoved her hands into her pockets and smiled at him one last time before turning. If she looked back, she would insist he came with her, and that's not who Kirihara was. He wasn't the goofy kid she had met in junior high anymore. He grew up at some point, at least little a bit.

Kirihara headed home. Tomorrow was a new day—good or not—and he had to face it eventually.

And when in doubt, as his real sister would say, hakuna matata.

* * *

**A/N: I've posted Tanaka Miho's information on my tumblr (crazyfiasco). Link to her info is also on my profile or will be whenever it shows up.**

**It's been two years since I posted the first chapter of this story. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me this far and to those who jumped aboard somewhere along the way. And once more, I must thank Temari. I know this story isn't perfect and I can't explain half of what I've written, but it means a lot that you all have been with me through this.**

**:)**


	78. Chapter 78

**Chapter 78.**

Sanada woke up to the smell of tea and the sounds of his father preparing for the day's lesson down in the dojo. He turned off his alarm clock, rubbed his eyes, and sat up. He swiftly changed into his school uniform before heading towards the kitchen at the end of the hall.

His mother smiled and handed him a box. "Here, breakfast on the go. And, this"—she turned towards the counter and grabbed a Styrofoam cup—"is your tea."

"Thank you, Mother. Do you need help with the dishes?"

"No. Go on, Genchirou, you don't want to be late for practice."

Sanada tipped his head and headed down the stairs. Picking up his tennis bag and keys, he left the family dojo, donning his blue cap.

It was warm outside but he did not like that. He preferred the cold—crisp and harsh and unforgiving. He walked numbly along the streets, sipping at his tea every few steps.

It was a short walk to the street corner where he met Yanagi and Yukimura. When he arrived, Yukimura held out his hand expectantly, ready to trade Sanada's coffee for his tea like they did every morning.

"I have tea already," Sanada said.

Yukimura frowned and looked at his cup. "Tea will do, I suppose..."

They headed towards the school, Yanagi talking about the dorm he would be living in in Italy, Yukimura making the occasional comment, and Sanada drinking his tea in silence.

"Did you hear me, Genchirou?" Yukimura asked.

"Hmm?"

"I was contacted by Inoue-san from _Pro Tennis Monthly_ for a private interview."

"Did you turn him down?"

"Yes, but I told him if he saw me at the tournament grounds we could speak," Yukimura said. "But he mentioned that this tournament will have quite a bit of coverage. Can you imagine Atobe's court personality merging with his camera personality?"

The thought made Sanada pause in thought. "Perhaps this tournament will be interesting after all."

"I think it would be interesting regardless of Atobe's diva ways," Yukimura said with the smallest of smiles. "This is our last tournament with the usual people. It will be something to remember."

"It will also be our third consecutive National title," Yanagi said.

"Yes, that too," Yukimura agreed with a much larger smile. "But that was a given."

The three approached the gates of the school. They were one day closer to their last tournament, their last chance to make things right. This time they would succeed no matter the cost.

.

Kirihara dozed off in lecture and when he woke up, he found wads of colored paper stuck in his hair courtesy of Tanaka and Miyagi. He ruffled his hair to shake the bits out in a shower like rainbow confetti and faked a laugh.

"You guys are so funny," Kirihara said sarcastically.

"Don't become sarcastic," Tanaka pleaded. "Sarcastic people are never as funny as they think they are."

"Tachibana was sarcastic," Miyagi said. He paused in thought. "She never was that funny, now that I think of it. She hated dinosaurs."

Tanaka agreed as the three turned their desks to face each other for lunch. Kirihara unwrapped his leftovers as Miyagi tried to put his straw into his juice box. They did not talk anymore about An.

"I could never stab anyone," Miyagi muttered. The straw jammed inside and juice squirted out onto his face. "I hate juice."

"Then don't drink it," Tanaka said. "You guys want to study for that English test later tonight?"

"Sure," Miyagi said.

"I don't know if I can," Kirihara said. "I promised to ref a match for Marui-senpai, Jackal-senpai, Urayama, and Oyama. _Wow_ that was a mouthful."

"Afterwards then?" Tanaka asked. "I'm not doing anything else."

"Don't you have a boyfriend you're obligated to spend time with?"

She shrugged. "He's got family in town and I am not meeting his grandmother. He says that she makes people uncomfortable in the worst ways possible. Do you want to study later or not?"

"I'll text you," Kirihara said.

"I already said yes and I think doing so again would be redundant."

Miyagi sipped from his juice box until it was empty, making that horrible scratching, sucking sound. Tanaka and Miyagi began to bicker about the juice box, but Kirihara didn't listen.

Kirihara looked out the windows and could see the courts. He wanted to play so badly it hurt. Saying good-bye to An hadn't been as painful as the ache to win. He couldn't shake it, but he felt like this year was going to be different, yet he didn't know how. It might be hard, it might be easy, he did not know.

Regardless, he would not go down without a fight.

_Always win. Losing is not permitted. _

Rikkaidai would not go down without a fight.

.

Yagyuu was at his cubby in the lobby when Chishu Usagi, the first year class president, approached him. She handed out a small baggie tied with a ribbon.

"Just in case I don't see you again before your tournament," she said.

Yagyuu undid the ribbon and saw four sugar cookies stacked inside. They were covered in sprinkles that made them look like tennis balls. Yagyuu put on his perfect Gentleman smile and looked at the first year.

"Thank you, Chishu-chan," he said.

"Just win, okay? I want to brag to my little brother that I know a national champion."

"We'll win, we always do."

She smiled, a little more crooked and real than Yagyuu's, and headed off disappearing in the mass of people. Seconds after her disappearance, Niou was at his side saying, "Come on, 'roshi, we have practice. Stop flirting with Cupcake and get a move on it."

Yagyuu sighed, "Niou-kun," and grabbed his bag to follow Niou to the locker rooms.

The rest of the regulars were already in the back, hanging out and waiting to go out and do their laps. Other members came and went, but the regulars were always there, lingering just a little too long.

When Yagyuu opened his locker he heard Marui ask, "You guys want to stay after practice and play some matches? Jackal and I are staying with Ice-cream-head and Oyama."

"My sister doesn't study when I'm not around and she needs to do better on her tests," Yagyuu said.

"Whatever. Niou?" Marui asked.

"Can't," Niou said. "My family is going to one of the high schools Kenji's trying to get into."

"Isn't it a little late to be looking?" Marui asked. "My brothers already know they're coming here."

"He was already accepted. My mom just wants him to see the campus in person before they sign the papers."

"What school is it, Senpai?" Urayama asked.

"Some art school in Kansai, the one Yukimura wouldn't stop talking about in junior high."

"Maiden Rose," Marui said. Niou nodded.

"Maiden Rose?" Kirihara echoed. That sounded familiar. Why did it sound familiar? If it was art, Tanaka had probably mentioned it for drama.

"Yeah," Marui said in response to Kirihara. "Yukimura applied there. He obviously wasn't going to go there, but he still wanted to see if he was good enough to get in."

"Did he?" Urayama asked.

Marui looked at Niou, who shrugged. Marui said, "I don't know."

.

Once practice had ended, Kirihara, Marui, Jackal, Urayama, and Oyama lingered on the courts. Yukimura left them the key to lock up, then left with Sanada and Yanagi, leaving the five on the courts. Kirihara pulled himself up into the referee's chair.

"These things are too damn tall," he complained as he wiggled to face the court. Marui and Jackal were on one side, Urayama and Oyama on the other. No need to warm up after practice, the tension high. "Uh, ready?"

Marui popped a bubble. "They're serving first."

"Okaaay." Kirihara looked nervously between the two pairs. If they beat the crap out of each other right before Nationals, Yukimura was going to have Kirihara's head for allowing it to happen.

"Urayama-Oyama pair versus Marui-Jackal pair. One set match. Urayama or Oyama—I don't freaking know—to serve."

For the record, Kirihara admitted to being the worst ref out of all of the regulars.

Urayama tossed a ball into the air and it flew across the court.

Kirihara made the calls—in, out, point, game—until the score stood two-one, Marui-Jackal in the lead. If Urayama and Oyama wanted to make a comeback, they needed to step it up. Kirihara knew their problem, saw it in the way they moved, in the way Oyama moved.

Oyama Kenta, the Ringmaster and one of the most feared first years in the high school circuit, was afraid of his own tennis, afraid of going demon, afraid of hurting someone, afraid of Urayama being hurt, afraid of himself.

Four games in, when it was Marui's turn to serve, Kirihara watched and waited for Marui to rush the net and switch spots with Jackal, but it never came. Marui remained firm on the baseline while Jackal took over the front.

When did they finish their formation?

The handful of times Kirihara had seen Marui on defense were because he was forced to, but this time it was optional. He swayed comfortable behind Jackal, moving only when he needed to. They had practiced this for hours. That kind of reading (especially from the baseline) did not come without practice.

"Don't hit it," Oyama said. The ball was in, but Urayama could not have reached it. His hair was beginning to fall out of his ponytail; he was panicking.

Marui popped a bubble and Jackal smiled back at him.

It was flawless.

Game, Marui-Jackal.

Game, Marui-Jackal.

"Volley play," Oyama told Urayama at the beginning of the next game.

An unsuccessful Tightrope Walking, a successful Tightrope Walking, a drop-shot that Jackal did not reach.

No, not flawless. The longer they played in their switched positions, the more flawed it became. The holes began to form and that was what Oyama was waiting for.

Oyama hit a shallow shot from the back, then Jackal did something Kirihara did not expect.

The ball shot across the court then—

What in the world?

Kirihara leaned forward and nearly fell out of the chair. What was that? That move was the strangest thing he had ever seen Jackal hit. He didn't catch it. He waited and waited point after point for Jackal to repeat the move, but he did not.

Marui hit a sharp shot to the corner, at the exact spot Oyama could never hit, and the match was over.

"Marui-Jackal win, uh, I forget the score," Kirihara said. "Six games to one?"

Urayama sat down on the court, leaning back on his hands and struggling to take in all the air he could. "That was—" He looked at his senpai. "While wearing weighs?"

"Niou-senpai and Yagyuu-senpai always wore weights too," Oyama said. He held out a hand, pulled Urayama to his feet, looked at their senpai on the other side of the court. He did not say anything, just gazed over with that curious, distant look in his eyes.

Urayama looked slightly panicked, but he was smiling, like he was thinking about how much fun Nationals were going to be. These people were monsters and that made it fun.

Marui smiled and held up his hand. Jackal gave him a high five and returned the smile.

"With my genius and you, there's no way we can lose," Marui said.

"We're going to win," Jackal confirmed. "Number one doubles pair in all of Japan and three straight wins. We got this."

They looked like they could take on hell and high water, like nothing in the world could prove them wrong.

.

Niou headed straight home after practice. He wanted to practice the formation with Yagyuu, work in one more trick, but his mother was insistent that he came along. He wondered if Kenji wanted him there and was too embarrassed to say so, so he asked their mother to persuade Niou.

Kenji fiddled with his bowtie (Niou's idea) and looked up at his older brother as they lingered in the foyer.

"You look weird with your hair like that," Kenji said.

"He looks handsome," Riko said, walking down the stairs in a black dress and looking in her clutch. She ruffled Kenji's hair then disappeared into another room saying, "Mom, do you have a mirror?"

Kenji fiddled and tapped his feet. "My duet partner is going there. Maiden Rose, I mean. Singing."

Niou does not respond.

Kenji adjusts his bowtie for the tenth time. "Um, Masa, how do you talk to girls?"

Their father walked in and frowned at Kenji, then adjusted his bowtie. "It was crooked."

Kenji turned a violent shade of red and began to walk towards the door, stammering, "I—I'll be in the car."

When he's gone, Niou chuckled and his father looked at him. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Kenji likes girls."

"Well, that's a relief, I suppose? Not that him liking boys would be bad, but, well, whatever makes him happy." He paused. "Wait. You mean he's starting to like girls?"

"Yes."

"God help us all. I cannot deal with another teenager."

Niou pursed his lips and slid a hand over his waxed back hair (Riko's idea). He felt uncomfortable in dress clothes, always had. It didn't feel right, like he was putting on airs. Riko and Kenji liked dressing up; Niou didn't get it.

"You're smart, Masaharu, and you have a way of nosing into other peoples' business," his father said. Was that supposed to be a compliment? "Have you looked into this school?"

"It's an art school," Niou said.

"And?"

"That's all I know."

Riko walked over, checking the contents of her clutch one last time, with her mother on her tail.

"It's not just an art school, it's _the _art school," Riko said. "I looked into it when I was searching for a high school—for piano, I mean—but Hyotei had the better pre-business program so I never bothered to apply."

"Kenji does love music," their father said. "I don't know where you kids get it from."

"Me, of course, Dear," their mother said. "Come on, Riko, Kenji is already in the car. Hurry up you two!"

The two women waltzed out of the foyer and to the black car waiting out front.

"Oh, by the way, I looked into the dates of your tournaments," his father said. "I have a meeting with Atobe Corp. and a few other companies the day of your Semifinal match, but I think I should be able to come by. If anything changes, I'll be sure to come."

"You don't have to," Niou said. "Work comes first."

His father sighed. "You are just like my father. Work does come first, but sometimes family cheats and gets first place."

Niou blinked, confused. "What?"

"I have no idea what I just said." His father rubbed the back of his head then shrugged. "Oh, such as life. We should hurry before your mother gets short with me. I missed dinner last week because of traffic and I still haven't heard the end of it."

His father put a hand on Niou's shoulder and then they walked out.

.

Maiden Rose was a small school with less than a thousand students. It was the elite of the elite for art students. Any student who attended the school could go into any art-related business they desired without lifting a finger. Of course Kenji would want to go there.

The campus had several buildings that looked like they'd come out of a history book. The dorms were recently renovated as well, something which made his mother happy. Every bit of the campus was gorgeous, from the architecture to the gardens to the sounds drifting from the theater.

Niou sat in the front row with his family as the orchestra and choir performed together. If the choir director had reserved a spot for Kenji in the front seat, Niou was willing to bet that this school wanted his little brother. Kenji was a member of the Junior National Choir after all and he was smart. Of course he would be, he was Niou's little brother.

"Is this thing over yet?" Niou grumbled as he clapped. He looked down at the program and saw there was one more performance by some hot shot cello player—first chair in the National High School Orchestra, second chair in the Junior Japanese Symphony, and was a co-composer of some piece. That was only what was listed next to his name, the rest was on the back.

Geez. And he thought Riko and Kenji liked music.

A boy shorter than Marui walked up onto the stage carrying his cello. His hair was gelled back, but once he was under the light, Niou could see electric blue streaks in his black hair. He sat in the chair in the center of the stage and—

The muscle mass on his two arms differed. It was hard to tell underneath his tuxedo, but that kid definitely had a stronger right arm. Playing the cello alone wouldn't do that. This kid was a prodigy and probably practiced his ass off, but moving a stick on strings did not give you that kind of bulk.

But tennis did.

* * *

**A/N: Nationals begins next chapter! (I know this chapter isn't... great. I'm trying to get out of my funk with this fic and am having some difficulties. Please be patient.)**

**Since I last updated, I've posted/updated:**

**The Pokémon Chronicles:** Akaya meets Pokémon. There are cannon characters and OCs. Even if you know nothing about Pokémon, I would appreciate you checking it out and at least giving it a shot :)

Incentive to read: Akaya being comically bullied by Pokémon, Niou walking into women's restrooms, Miyuki is a total badass, Gary-motherfucking-Oak is in there, and really bad attempts at humor.

**Sparrow:** Niou/Marui angst. 19 short chapters that should be read in short succession for best effect.

**Bite Me:** Updated. Actually has a plot know!

**The Robot Girl:** Marui and a kick ass female OC. Not technically a romance, but it can be taken that way if so desired. (It's a romance.)

**I would be very thankful for any feedback on those as well as on this chapter!**


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